Chandigarh, Feb. 19 -- In a major step towards strengthening sanitation, the municipal corporation (MC) Chandigarh has decided to directly collect garbage from markets and hotels across the city. For the first time, the civic body has signed agreements with 100 door-to-door garbage collectors exclusively for commercial areas. Each collector will be paid a monthly salary of Rs.25,000, with a proposed annual increment of 5%. The collectors will work eight-hour shifts, with biometric attendance and periodic medical check-ups being made mandatory. Under the new system, waste from food markets and hotels will be collected twice a day - in the morning and evening - to maintain hygiene. Civic officials said the move aims to address the persistent problem of shopkeepers leaving garbage outside their establishments at night, which often remains on the streets until the next morning. Now, waste generated at night will be lifted the same night. The agreements were signed in the presence of mayor Saurabh Joshi and MC commissioner Amit Kumar with garbage collectors, each of whom has been assigned specific markets and nearly 200 shops. Mayor Joshi appealed to residents and traders to strictly adhere to waste segregation norms. "If waste segregation begins at the source - homes and shops - it becomes easier to process and manage," he said. Currently, many shopkeepers hire private workers to remove garbage despite already paying sanitation charges as part of their water bills, effectively bearing double expenses. Similar grievances have been raised by traders in the Industrial Area for several years. Shopkeepers will now no longer have to pay separately for garbage collection. The MC will also conduct a survey of all markets to identify individuals presently engaged in garbage collection....