Punjab's industrial capital put out a ₹1,550 crore tender to manage its garbage and sweep its roads. No one bid. They tried again. Still no one. The city is now on its third attempt, which really makes you wonder what 'sanitation overhaul' means when the job description scares off even the people who clean things for a living.
Ludhiana — a city of 35 lakh people, Punjab's financial engine, and a former Smart City Mission beneficiary that already burned through ₹935 crore with little to show for it — launched an ambitious two-part sanitation plan: ₹1,400 crore for integrated solid waste management (door-to-door collection, segregation, processing) and ₹150 crore for mechanised sweeping of 3,197 km of roads. The tender went out. Zero bids. They refloated it. Zero bids again. The Municipal Corporation extended the deadline to April 17 for a third attempt, expressing 'hope' that qualified bidders would materialise. The projects involve 'large-scale operations and long-term commitments,' officials noted, apparently unaware that this description applies to every infrastructure contract ever. Meanwhile, 6,000 existing sanitation workers continue to reign over what The Tribune diplomatically called 'stinky' Ludhiana.