Kerala HC to monitor Amayizhanchan canal cleaning, asks Railways to clean its premises

Kochi, Jul 26 (PTI) The Kerala High Court on Friday asked the Railways to ensure time-bound cleaning of the Amayizhanchan canal where a sanitation worker had died after going missing in it while clearing the waste and filth from it earlier this month.

Justices Bechu Kurian Thomas and P Gopinath said the canal is flowing through the state capital and the court will regularly monitor the cleaning process.

The court also asked the state government to make use of the social media, including Instagram to spread awareness about waste disposal.

The court said the disposal of the waste at railway station premises is the responsibility of the Railways and asked it to give priority to the Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway station where many long-distance-running trains conclude their journey.

Meanwhile, the Railways said the public was throwing garbage on its vacant land. However, the court said it was the responsibility of the Railways to keep clean the tracks and its premises.

The court asked the authorities to take a cue from foreign cities on how to manage waste.

The court also asked whether the government could rope in the television channels to spread the waste disposal awareness campaign similar to the campaign against public smoking.

Joy, a temporary cleaning worker employed by a railway contractor, went missing while clearing the waste-filled canal criss-crossing through the heart of the capital city on July 13.

He and two other workers were engaged in cleaning the Thampanoor part of the canal near the railway station when the water flow increased due to heavy rainfall, sweeping him into a 200-metre-long tunnel below the tracks of the platform at the central railway station.

The decomposed body was found on July 15 in the canal on the Pazhavangadi-Thakaraparambu-Vanchiyoor road by corporation sanitation workers, who immediately alerted the police and the ward councillor. PTI COR RRT RRT KH