On Bhogi, Chennai residents draw kolams to protest GCC’s waste incineration plan

Chennai residents protest GCC's waste-to-energy plant proposal with kolam art, demanding sustainable waste management reforms.

On Bhogi, a festival traditionally marked by burning old waste, Chennai residents turned the tables on the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) with a message: “We are ready not to burn garbage, is the Chennai Corporation ready?” 

The statement was part of the residents’ demonstration, expressed through colourful kolams, an important part of the Pongal festivities, protesting the GCC’s proposal to construct a waste-to-energy plant capable of burning 2,100 tonnes of rubbish daily, including large quantities of plastic and PET bottles.

Participants from areas such as Vyasarpadi, Kodungaiyur, Adyar, and Besant Nagar, Ramapuram, Thiruvallur, Ambattur, drew kolams to symbolically challenge the Corporation’s plans. Protesters criticised the GCC’s Bhogi directive urging residents to avoid burning rubbish to curb pollution, calling it ironic in light of the proposed waste-to-energy plant.

Co-ordinated by the Alliance for Incinerator Free Chennai, the protests highlighted the health, environmental, and climate risks posed by incineration. Residents demanded the scrapping of the WTE project in Kodungaiyur and called for systemic waste management reforms, including source segregation, decentralised processing, penalties for non-compliance and restricting the production, manufacturing, and usage of all single-use plastics in the local body jurisdiction.

Residents have also planned to continue the kolam protest throughout the Pongal festival, urging GCC to adopt sustainable waste solutions.

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