Mohali, Jan. 30 -- The Mohali municipal corporation's (MC) much-awaited door-to-door segregated garbage collection project has been temporarily deferred following protests by sanitation workers and allegations of poor coordination ahead of its proposed launch. Mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu on Thursday said the decision was taken after he sought a report from MC commissioner Parminder Pal Singh on the deteriorating cleanliness situation in the city. The project was scheduled to be inaugurated on Wednesday, with local MLA Kulwant Singh invited to formally launch it. However, the inauguration could not take place after sanitation workers and existing garbage collectors, backed by the MC's contractual workers' union, gathered in protest outside the civic body's office. The protesters opposed the decision to hand over waste collection to a private contractor. Mayor Sidhu said that although a resolution to outsource door-to-door garbage collection had already been passed in a previous MC meeting, the manner in which the project was being rolled out created confusion and unrest. He alleged that neither the mayor nor local representatives were adequately briefed about the launch, and sanitation workers were not taken into confidence. "The MLA wanted to take credit for the project by inaugurating it, but by sidelining local representatives and sanitation workers, the entire city has been pushed into chaos," Sidhu said. He added the situation worsened as workers went on strike over the past three days, leading to garbage piling up across several parts of the city. According to the MC, contractual sanitation workers called off their protest on Thursday after the commissioner held a meeting with their union, heard their demands and assured them that their issues would be addressed....