Activists involved in protests still await long-term solution

Environmental activist Abdul Ghani and two members of Chennai Meme’s Facebook page — Gautham Govindaraman and Sri Ganesh Selvakumar were part of the team led by Karthikieya Sivasenapathy and P Rajasekharan, that met Minister of State (Independent Charge) Environment, Forest & Climate Change Anil Madhav Dave and Minister for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad. 

The team included Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Federation President P Rajasekharan; Karthikieya Sivasenapathy, Head of Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation tu issue; Amar Prasad Reddy of Care and Welfare, the voluntary organisation that organised the walkathon earlier in January to support the traditional sport, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan, Gautham, Ganesh and Abdul Ghani. They flew to Delhi on Friday from Chennai.

“We have been fighting for the cause from day one and we were looking out for a long-term solution to the issue. We reached out to the Environment Ministry and let them know about the issues. We then got a call from Tamilisai Soundararajan and a team of representatives met at Pon Radhakrishnan’s residence. After briefing him, he took us to the residence of minister Anil Madhav Dave. To pass the ordinance, the Environment Minister and Law Ministry have to give a nod. After this meet, we went ahead and met Ravi Shankar Prasad,” explains Abdul Ghani.

The team gave Anil Madhav Dave a 12-page document insisting the importance of native breeds in India along with a document on ways to amend PCA and investigate PETA. They also requested to bring changes to AWBI. This apart, they requested for plantation of trees in Tamil Nadu. 

“Both the ministers heard their issues patiently and we were assured of amendment of PCA in the parliament session,” says Gautham, who was in for a surprise when they received a call from Abdul Ghani, to be a part of the team.

“The ordinance has been passed and this is just a temporary solution. We want the amendments to be made in PCA and hope that the hearing for the same will be soon,” adds Gautham. After meeting they also joined the protesters at Jantar Mantar. 

Chennai Memes that started three years ago is primarily an entertainment platform but played a pivotal role during Chennai Floods, Bhadra campaign and also during Cyclone Vardah. They were also pivotal is gathering momentum for the mass movement. “This has given us the confidence to represent the voice of the youth and we will use social media to highlight issues faced in the state,” he says.