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Sanitation workers in Chennai intensified their agitation on Saturday, January 3, by staging a protest inside a burial ground in Moolakothalam, near Old Washermanpet in the city. The workers have been protesting for the past five months demanding regularised jobs under the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Saturday's protest was held near the spot where T Ravi Kumar, (48), a sanitation worker, died by suicide on December 12. Having earlier lost his job, Ravi Kumar reportedly faced financial issues. The sanitation workers also observed ceremonies in connection with the 16th day after his death at the protest site.
The workers resorted to this form of protest after repeated attempts to draw the attention of authorities at several locations, including the former chief minister Karunanidhi Memorial, Ripon Building, Secretariat, and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) head quarters Anna Arivalayam, failed to yield positive responses.
The workers have been protesting since August 2024 against the GCC over privatisation of solid waste management in zones 5 and 6, fearing loss of employment and also demanding regularisation of jobs.
Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam president and advocate Bharathi lay on a burial bed as an act of protest. Upon seeing this, sanitation workers broke down in tears around him. Police soon intervened and forcefully detained all the protesters.
The workers raised slogans demanding that talks be initiated with their union representatives. Suresh, a representative of Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam, said that while nurses, teachers, and government employees were invited for talks, sanitation workers were being ignored. He alleged that the neglect was owed to the caste status of the workers, most of whom belong to Scheduled Castes and minority communities.
He said that ministers KN Nehru and Sekar Babu, along with Commissioner Kumaragurubaran and Water Supply Principal Secretary Karthikeyan, were responsible for the continued inaction. He also requested the intervention of Chief Minister MK Stalin or the Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Suresh said that the prolonged neglect was extremely frustrating for the sanitation workers.
Azeefa, a sanitation worker, said the workers had been without jobs for the past five months and had been left with no option but to protest at a burial ground, a place people usually come to after death. She said three sanitation workers involved in the protest had already died, one by suicide and two after being unable to afford medical treatment.
Asraf Begum, another sanitation worker, alleged that the police acted ruthlessly and spoke to the sanitation workers in a disrespectful manner.
The workers also alleged that the police did not provide them with proper food or drinking water and kept them confined in a small space after their previous detention. They also said that they would continue their protests.