Thiruvananthapuram: It has been nearly 24 hours since one of the most challenging rescue operations are on where Joy, a contract cleaning worker who has gone missing in a canal after he is suspected to have slipped-off and is trapped in the waste dump in the ‘Amayizhanjan’ canal.
The rescue team has searched the 60-meter portion of the canal which is 150 meter in length that flows beneath the railway station and adjoining to the Thampanoor bus stand at the heart of the capital city. One of the biggest challenges faced the NDRF team is the rocky stones and the depth of the canal towards the ending portion.
“We are looking for all options including the help of fire-force team whom we have already asked to join the rescue operations. The rescue team is taking a huge risk at the cost of their life here. But there are a lot of rocky portions which is the main challenge”, said V Shivankutty, state education minister.
Blame-game begins
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran has alleged that the railway authorities has been a mute spectator when waste materials including solid waste was dumped in the canal.
“It is unfortunate that the railways has been a mute spectator over the waste dumping issue in the canal which the corporation has been signaling for a long time. However, currently we are focusing only on the rescue operations”, she said to the media.
Meanwhile after a high-level meeting conducted by minister V Shivankutty has decided to engage for more scuba divers and fire force officials from the nearby districts for the search operations.
Joy, a temporary staff member of the cleaning department at Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and a resident of Marayamuttom, went missing earlier in the day while attempting to clear accumulated waste from the canal. Joy is reportedly trapped inside a tunnel filled with waste, presenting a significant challenge to the rescue operation.
Even though the scuba divers managed to reach 30 meters into the tunnel, congestion due to solid waste and darkness has forcing the rescue team to crawl on their knees.
Meanwhile, the rescue team is unclear about the exact location of Joy as there are doubts if he was washed away to another location.
As per sources from Thiruvananthapuram corporation, Joy was involved in cleaning jobs that was undertook by contractors engaged in railway works. Joy was living with his mother and was engaged in scrap collection and sales.
Corporation blames Southern Railways for being inactive
The blame game has begun with Thiruvananthapuram Corporation stating that they had sent a notice to the regional manager of Southern Railways citing the immediate need to clean the canal that runs beneath the Thampanoor railway division.
The notice had mentioned that railways complete the job in seven days, failing which the corporation would invoke the relevant penal provisions and fine as mandated in the municipality act. The notice further added that despite calling for several meetings and communications, the railways did the desilting only for 200 meters on the side of the canal near the power house road. The notice directed the railway authorities that if the cleaning under the railway portion not done, it would lead to flooding and large-scale losses to residents and shopkeepers in the area adjacent to the canal.
“We issued a reminder, held another meeting and only then the work started. Now our aim is to clean the entire canal on a war footing basis”, said Gayathri Babu, Corporation health standing committee chairman.
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor blamed the corporation for the apathy saying that if they had found the railways at fault, they should have brought it to the notice of either the state or the central government.
Cleaning the canal was a challenging and daunting job
Cleaning the canal was always a challenging job, says former district collector Biju Prabhakar who had coordinated the ‘Operation Anantha’, a mass cleaning activity that was undertaken by the state government in 2016. During the operation, 700 loads of waste was removed from the canal stretch. Cleaning the canal was a challenging job for the corporation for many years as waste water and solid waste from various part of the city is flowing through the stretch and hence cleaning was a major hurdle for the authorities.
Shopkeepers and public have been raising complaints with the corporation multiple times as the stench and the odour from the canal has caused inconvenience for them.
The maintenance of the canal that measured 140 meters in length was always a challenge for the Corporation and the railways.
It has been nearly 24 hours since one of the most challenging rescue operations are on where Joy, a contract cleaning worker who has gone missing in a canal after he is suspected to have slipped-off and is trapped in the waste dump in the ‘Amayizhanjan’ canal. Kerala States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
