Following the week-long protest at Marina beach in Chennai against the ban on jallikattu, corporation officials stated that a staggering 413 tonnes of garbage was left behind.
The New Indian Express reported that as many as 1,473 sanitary workers were at work in day and night shifts, to clean up the beach after the protests.
“There are no significant damages caused by the protests. Some railings bordering the pavement have been bent but it would not take much to have them fixed or replaced,” the report quotes an official as saying.
Last week, as several thousand demonstrators gathered at the beach, garbage and plastic waste like food packets, water bottles among other things were also being consumed at a rapid rate.
However, many students and volunteers were seen stepping in, to help clear the trash by collecting it and putting it in one section of the beach.
Around 40 to 45 garbage bags and sacks were arranged at the time so that the trash could be collected for disposal.
It was also pointed out that the Chennai Corporation was positioned in and around the beach during the protests, and attempted to clean the area. However, large crowds and police barricades made their job tough.
Officials said that while the students' action of collecting trash did help to an extent, there was still a massive amount of trash remaining at the end of the protest.