Chennai, August 31: A tense standoff between Chennai’s sanitation workers and authorities culminated in a late-night police operation to clear protesters from outside the Ripon Building, following a Madras High Court directive. The eviction marks a dramatic escalation in the week-long protest by workers demanding job security and opposing privatization of garbage collection services.
Midnight Eviction After Failed Negotiations
As darkness fell on Wednesday, the area surrounding the Greater Chennai Corporation headquarters transformed into a security fortress with nearly 500 police personnel encircling the protest site. The confrontation reached its peak at 11:30 PM when officers in riot gear moved to disperse the crowd of sanitation workers, many of whom had been camping at the location for days. Chants of “Jai Bhim” echoed through the streets as police began separating and detaining protesters.
Eyewitnesses reported chaotic scenes as authorities loaded demonstrators onto waiting buses. At least thirteen vehicles transported the detained workers to makeshift holding facilities across the city, including community halls in Neelankarai, Velachery, and Kotturpuram. Medical teams attended to several women protesters who reportedly fell unconscious during the operation. By midnight, municipal workers had already begun clearing the protest site, erasing all traces of the demonstration within hours.
#WATCH | Tamil Nadu | Police detains conservancy workers who were protesting in front of the Greater Chennai Corporation office against the outsourcing of sanitation work to private contractors pic.twitter.com/s3EanYx9tl
— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2025
The crackdown followed unsuccessful last-ditch negotiations between government representatives and labor leaders. Urban Administration Minister K.N. Nehru and Chennai Mayor R. Priya had attempted to broker a solution after the High Court’s stern warning against obstructing public spaces. “We’ve offered to address their concerns through proper channels, but they refused to vacate despite the court order,” Mayor Priya told reporters, emphasizing that the Ripon Building premises weren’t designated for protests.
Privatization Row Fuels Ongoing Labour Unrest
At the heart of the conflict lies the workers’ vehement opposition to the corporation’s move to privatize garbage collection in Royapuram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar zones. The protesting sanitation workers, many employed under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), demand permanent status and better wages. “The government wants to replace us with private contractors who’ll exploit workers,” claimed K. Suresh, state president of the Left Trade Union Centre.
The court’s intervention came after a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Srivastava and Justice Sundar Mohan observed that prolonged protests on public pathways created undue hardship for citizens. While directing authorities to show restraint, the judges emphasized the need to maintain public order.
With the August 31 deadline for workers to return to duty looming, the standoff presents a political quandary for the DMK government. Labour unions remain defiant, vowing to continue their agitation despite the crackdown. As dawn broke over a cleared protest site, the unresolved labour dispute continues to simmer, leaving Chennai’s waste management system in precarious balance and testing the government’s ability to reconcile judicial mandates with workers’ rights.