Sanitation Worker Swept To Death While Cleaning Aamayizhanchan Canal: Kerala HC Seeks Report On Origin, Removal Of Accumulated Plastic Waste
In the case of a missing sanitation worker whose body was recovered from the Aamayizhanchan canal, the Kerala High Court has ordered the Railways, Trivandrum Corporation and Trivandrum Collector to submit reports regarding the reasons for the flow of plastic waste into the canal, the manner in which it is to be removed and the persons responsible for removing it.The report will have...
In the case of a missing sanitation worker whose body was recovered from the Aamayizhanchan canal, the Kerala High Court has ordered the Railways, Trivandrum Corporation and Trivandrum Collector to submit reports regarding the reasons for the flow of plastic waste into the canal, the manner in which it is to be removed and the persons responsible for removing it.
The report will have to specifically mention how they are going to remove the plastic and legacy waste already accumulated in the canal. The report is to be submitted on or before 26th July
The bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas and Justice Gopinath P. held a special sitting after the news of a missing sanitation worker, Joy came to light. His body was found after 46 hours of searching. Joy was one among the workers contracted by the railways to clean the portion of the canal near Trivandrum Central Station. The water was stagnant when the cleaning began but he was swept off by the heavy rains.
The search for him was rendered difficult due to the waste accumulated in the canal. The canal flows through Trivandrum city and is stagnant in many parts due to the waste accumulated in the canal. National Disaster Response Force personnel and deep divers from the Navy were engaged in the search.
His body was found by the corporation sanitation workers this morning and they alerted the police. The Corporation and Railways blamed each other for the incident. Though waste management is the duty of the Corporation, some portion of the canal is Railway property. The Court said that it do not want to get into a fact-finding mission to find out who is at fault at this point. The Court added that irrespective of who is at fault, it is the public that suffers.
The Railways submitted that they had installed mesh so that the waste from the canal would not enter their property. However, due to the ingress of huge amounts of plastic waste, the mesh is unable to stop the waste.
The Amicus Curiae will visit the place of incident and will make suggestions as to what is to be done. The amicus will also be visiting other places in the canal where the waste is accumulated. Further, she will be interacting with the authorities involved in 'Operation Anantha' to get inputs on how to prevent such instances from happening again.
'Operation Anantha' was initiated in 2015 and was in place till 2020 to deal with the flooding and waterlogging in Trivandrum. Cleaning of the Aamayizhanchan Canal was a massive project of the Operation.
Case Title: Suo Motu v State of Kerala and Others
Case No: WP(C) 7844/ 2023