Silent rallies, demos create awareness on environment

Their aim was to mobilise people in the city to non-violently strike against the government’s negligence to environmental problems.

Madhav started the Chennai chapter of Extinction Rebellion, a global environmental movement that uses non-violent civil disobedience to force government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk of social and ecological collapse.

“We work towards saving the environment and at this point, more than creating awareness, we focus on bringing a positive change. Our aim is to connect with various sections of people in the society and work with them on important local issues that directly affect them,” Madhav tells DT Next.  

This young group of six to seven core members works under the guidance of environmentalist and activist, Nityanand Jayaraman.

Talking about their recent rally, Save the Oxygen, at T Nagar, Madhav says that not many people responded to them. “Our first walk was at Thiruvanmiyur beach in September. We had presented a demonstrative act called Dying Act — around 10 members fell flat on the ground unexpectedly while walking. Seeing our act, many passers-by surrounded us and asked about our initiative. The response we got from that walk was decent. For the second rally, we decided to reach a different section of people and organised a walk at Ranganathan Street in T Nagar. Though people were curious, they were hesitant to come forward and ask questions or inquire about climate change. Most of them were taking pictures and videos. But I think we conveyed the message through this silent protest,” he hopes.  

The group is currently focussing on the campaign #SaveChennaiWetlands and also working on the rise in sea level and the livelihood of the fishermen community across the coast.