Mohali, July 4 -- A dispute between the municipal officials and sanitation workers has led to a garbage collection crisis in Mohali, leaving residents in agonising wait for waste pickup and streets littered with stinking garbage.

The strike by around 300 garbage collectors, which began on June 30, entered its fourth day on Thursday, and garbage remains uncollected from both residential areas and markets. As a result, residents have started dumping waste along roadsides and vacant plots, turning the city into a sprawling mess in the ongoing rainy season.

The strike was triggered by a demand from the Punjab Safai Mazdoor Federation to transfer a sanitary inspector, Harminder Singh, whom they accuse of misconduct. Federation general secret...