12 sanitary workers detained as hunger strike against privatisation continues

CHENNAI: The hunger strike by 12 sanitary workers demanding regularisation of jobs and a designated protest site entered third day on Wednesday. Police detained them again, this time near the Labour Statue at Marina Beach. A group of 27 workers, including those who came to record the protest and check on the condition of the detainees near the Bharat Ratna Kamarajar Thirumana Mandapam in Alandur, were also taken into custody. Protesters alleged that police used force during the detention, including beatings to the knees. Sudha, one of the 12 protesters, is undergoing treatment at Kalaignar Centenary Super Specialty Hospital. Grace Mary, a sanitary worker who was admitted to Government Stanley Hospital with chest injuries allegedly sustained on Monday, has been discharged. She said she has not eaten since and intends to rejoin the strike. Police have been releasing the detained workers only at midnight on roads for the past two days, sources said, prompting nearly 100 workers to gather at the marriage hall on Wednesday demanding the immediate release of workers. All 39 detainees, including 24 women, were freed around 6 pm, said police sources. The workers have been protesting for over a month against the privatisation of solid waste management in Royapuram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar zones. With no response from corporation or government officials, the situation has become routine: police detain protesters, release them at random locations at night, and the protest resumes the next day at a different spot, the workers said. TNIEs attempts to contact GCC Mayor R Priya and Deputy Mayor M Magesh Kumaar went unanswered.