Chennai: Protesting cleanliness workers arrested in midnight drama for defying Madras HC order

CHENNAI: Armed with the order of the Madras High Court stating that the protesting cleanliness workers cannot block the pavement outside Ripon Building, the Greater Chennai City police arrested and forcibly removed the protesters from outside the Greater Chennai Corporation headquarters around midnight on Wednesday.

By evening, the roads around Ripon Building were cordoned off, and a large number of police personnel were present. At around 11.30 pm, the police charged towards the demonstrators, prompting chants of “Jai Bhim.” Around 500 personnel were deployed, and men and women were detained separately, with a few women protesters seen fainting.

Thirteen buses ferried the slogan-shouting protesters to wedding halls and community centres in different parts of the city, such as Neelankarai, Velachery, Mount Road, and Kotturpuram. By midnight, about 90 percent of the protesters had been removed. Minutes after, private conservancy workers moved in to sweep away the garbage, slippers, and flags outside the Ripon Building.

Earlier in the day, the police and the corporation had asked the protesters to move out of the place, which, however the latter rejected. Meanwhile, after yet another round of negotiations with the workers failed, Municipal Administration Minister and senior DMK leader KN Nehru went to meet Chief Minister MK Stalin to discuss the matter that is increasingly becoming a political issue for the government.

Mayor cites court order; unions allege core demands ignored

“Ripon Building is not a place for agitation; the cleanliness workers can stage their protest at the designated place after obtaining proper permission from the police,” city Mayor R Priya had said on Wednesday after emerging from the brief meeting with the workers’ representatives.

“The High Court has clearly stated that the protest should not continue, as it is disturbing the day-to-day activities of the general public. Hence, the court has ordered removal,” the mayor said.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Sunder Mohan had said, “We may further observe here that all restraint shall be exercised by the law-enforcing agency while ensuring that the pavements/pathways/roads are not allowed for organising and staging protest.”

Speaking to the media after the negotiation that Ministers Nehru and PK Sekarbabu, Mayor Priya, and Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran and other officials with the representatives of protesters, failed to achieve any breakthrough, the Mayor had said the State government would execute the court order and that the workers were given time till August 31 to join duty.

“After the High Court order, we held negotiation talks with the representatives of the protesters and asked them to withdraw the protest in compliance with the court order. However, the protesting workers refused to comply with the order. Hence, we will follow the order of the court,” she had said.

She claimed that the State government came forward to meet the main demands of the protesters by ensuring job security and the salary that they had been receiving while serving as National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) workers. “Despite our offer, the protesters are firm on their stand not to withdraw the protest,” she had said.

However, contradicting the mayor’s claims, K Suresh, State president of the Left Trade Union Centre (LTUC) that is organising the protest, and S Kumarasamy, adviser of the union, told the media that they would not withdraw the protest as the State government was not willing to accept their main demands: not withdrawing the move to privatise garbage collection in Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones, and not being ready to accept cleanliness workers as NULM workers anymore.

“Hence, the protest will continue,” said K Bharathi, president of Uzhaippor Urimai Iyakkam.

WATCH: "The city will halt without us." DT Next spoke to the protesting women sanitation workers outside Ripon Building, a day before their arrest. Despite heavy rains, lack of toilets, and safety concerns, they stood their ground.