CHENNAI: Members of various political parties celebrated the people’s mandate in the local body elections by distributing sweets and bursting crackers. But cleanliness took a beating at the counting centres as jubilant crowds littered the premises with food leftovers, plastic packets and tea cups.“A sense of euphoria has bowled them over. They have even forgotten that they are in front of a prestigious centre for learning,” said a Loyola College student. As the clock ticked 1 pm, cadre of various parties distributed packets of biryani. “After some time, the leftovers and empty packets ended up in front of the main gate,” said a bystander near the Malaysian Consulate. The Tank Bund Road also saw garbage piling up with tea cups and water packets all over the place by the evening. A tea vendor who was stationed in the area said he did brisk business.Muthaiyah, another tea vendor, said that even five packs of paper cups did not last beyond an hour or two. He added that during such occasions, profits soared when compared to a regular day.“This does not end with poll victory. For the next one week, we will see major celebrations. Definitely, we are going to see more littering in the coming days,” said Selvaraj, an employee at a private firm in Chetpet. Sindhuja of Choolaimedu said arrangements for ensuring cleanliness were as important as that for security in counting centres. On the counting day, it was not just littering that caught the public’s sight. Even the road traffic was hit in some areas after vehicles belonging to the members of various political parties flooded the streets on Friday morning.
Comments
0 comment