Chennai, 7 December (H.S.) : Cleanliness workers in Ambattur, Chennai, staged a five-hour protest on Saturday that escalated into a tense confrontation, culminating in over 300 workers surrounding the vehicle of Greater Chennai Corporation Regional Deputy Commissioner (Central Region) H.R. Koushik.

The demonstration, held outside the Zone 7 office, was primarily against the proposed outsourcing of solid waste management and the insistence by the GCC administration that workers wear uniforms. The workers initially refused to comply with the uniform instruction given by GCC Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran during an inspection, leading to a work boycott.

When RDC Koushik arrived and repeated the directive, the agitated workers surrounded his car, pushing the protest onto MTH Road and blocking traffic for nearly an hour. Police attempts to disperse the crowd led to a brief physical tussle before Zone 7 officials resumed negotiations.

The protest continued until 9 pm, with the workers maintaining that they would not return to duty until their long-standing demand for regularisation of their jobs was addressed.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Dr. R. B. Chaudhary