Thiruvananthapuram : It was a race against time by a team of NDRF, Navy, Fire-force and the scuba team at the ‘Amayizhanchan canal’ in Thiruvananthapuram where Joy, a 47-year-old sanitation worker.
Braving the force of water that was gushing through the canal with hard rocks, iron pillars and solid waste that was accumulated for years together, the rescue team managed to walk 60 meters through the canal with protective gears risking their life.
Joy was swept away on July 13th at 11am while he was under a 140-metre-long canal tunnel which runs under the tracks at the railway station. Three temporary workers, including Joy, were employed by a contractor who had bagged the contract from the Railways to clean the part of the canal that falls within its territory. When the water flow increased due to heavy rain, Joy was caught by the currents. Although the guest workers, who were standing on the canal banks, threw a rope to him, Joy could not grasp it. The work was being carried out without any safety precautions.
Minutes following the corporation officials were alerted, a 15-member team of the fire-force begam the search operations in the vicinity where Joy had slipped away after a stream hit him following heavy rains.
Members of the scuba diving team and the fire-force risked their lives braving darkness, large piles of mud, solid waste and the stench during the hours long search operations for sanitation worker Joy.
A dense wall of garbage one meter high at the top and one meter thick at the bottom restricted the navigable space to just one-meter making it difficult for the rescue team to move through the canal inner space.
“Its extremely distressing and I offer condolences to the family of Joy who lost his life while entering the canal for the duty he has been assigned”, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“It has been 46 hours of rescue operation that was conducted to locate Joy. All government machinery including fire-force, NDRF and scuba divers had worked on a war footing basis to locate Joy. We also got the assistance from Gen Robotics. I thank all the members of the search operations who had risked their lives and was engaged in an effort that cannot be forgotten. I thank each and everyone on behalf of the public of the state”, said Pinarayi Vijayan.
Retired officials from both the railways raised concerns over the need for cleaning the canal when there was a heavy downpour.
“What was the urgent requirement of the concerned party to clean the canal at a time when it was heavily raining and it is known that there will be water gushing from one side. I hope those in responsible positions will look into the matter seriously”, said an official in the revenue department under conditions of anonymity.
During the operation, the upper layer of solid waste had collapsed after water level dropped. Thankfully, a major tragedy was averted after the rescue workers threw a rope by which they managed to reach out.
Many senior government officials, both retired and serving have been questioning the corporation and the railways over the inaction over removal of solid waste that has been accumulated over years in the canal.
Braving the force of water that was gushing through the canal with hard rocks, iron pillars and solid waste that was accumulated for years together, the rescue team managed to walk 60 meters through the canal with protective gears risking their life. Kerala States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
