Chennai: In a late-night operation on Wednesday, Chennai police detained nearly 800 sanitation workers who had been staging a sit-in protest for 13 consecutive days outside the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) Ripon Building. The action followed a directive from the Madras High Court ordering the state government to clear the protest site.

The sanitation workers, employed under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), were protesting the GCC’s decision to privatise solid waste management services in Royapuram (Zone 5) and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar (Zone 6). These are among the last five zones still managed directly by the civic body, with the remaining 10 already outsourced to contractors such as Spain-based Urbaser-Sumeet and Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd (REEL) from Andhra Pradesh.

What happened yesterday night?

Around midnight, police rounded up the protesters, many of whom had been camped outside the Ripon Building for nearly two weeks. The entire operation lasted just 45 minutes, with workers being detained and transported in 14 buses.

The workers had long expressed concern that the privatisation move threatened their job security and would subject them to potential exploitation under private contractors. They demanded the rollback of the decision and called for permanent employment under the NULM scheme.

Tensions had been escalating since July 31, when GCC officials instructed workers to begin coordinating with private firms. On August 1, workers from the morning shift were reportedly denied entry to work, prompting many, including those with more than a decade of service, to join the strike.

The protest was backed by major trade unions including the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), AITUC, Left Trade Union Congress (LTUC), and Labour Progressive Union (LPU). Several political parties also lent their support, including CPI, CPI(M), DMDK, TVK, PMK, TNBSP, and others.

Despite a meeting between Municipal Administration Minister K.N. Nehru and protest representatives on Wednesday evening, no resolution was reached, paving the way for the police action.

Political reactions

The incident triggered strong reactions from opposition leaders. Senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the handling of the protest.

"Now watching how the sanitary workers on agitation for the past 13 days are brutally evacuated from that area...and forcefully arrested and taken in 14 buses approximately 800..were arrested...the reason for this evacuation the Government says that it is because of court order.. during my visit itself I told these type of brutal evacuation should not happen..TN @mkstalin".

She went on to criticise Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for what she called poor governance:

"Should meet them and speak to them positively, and the evacuation should be more decently and warmly. It is disheartening to see fainted women were taken in ambulance...Total mismanagement by @arivalayam DMK government...more painful to know that Honorable TN CM instead of meeting the agitating sanitary workers demanding adequate "coolie."..TN CM watching Coolingly the movie" coolie'.. Very Unfortunate situation in Tamilnadu."

As of now, there has been no official statement from the Tamil Nadu government or the GCC in response to the arrests or the concerns raised by the protesting workers.