Joy’s death triggered a row between the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and the Railways over which entity should keep the subterranean segment of the canal that flows under platforms and railway lines garbage-free.
| Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA
The Kerala Cabinet on July 17 announced an ex gratia payment of ₹10 lakh as compensation to the mother of sanitation worker Joy, who drowned recently while clearing urban waste clogging the Amayizhanjan Canal in Thiruvananthapuram.
Joy was the family’s sole breadwinner and his ageing mother’s provider and caregiver. The Railways had contracted Joy to clear the waste piled up at the juncture where the canal started flowing below the expansive Thampanoor Central railway station.
The arterial waterway drains stormwater from the city and expels it into the Akkulam lake and the sea beyond. Its debris-clogged segments had been the primary cause of flooding in the town.
Joy’s death triggered a row between the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and the Railways over which entity should keep the subterranean segment of the canal that flows under platforms and railway lines garbage-free.
Youth Congress march turns violent
Meanwhile, a Youth Congress (YC) march to the Corporation office blaming Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran for the failure to maintain the city’s stormwater drains and wastewater canals turned violent.
At least 10 YC workers scaled the fence and entered the office, triggering a confrontation with the police guarding the gates. The police used water cannons to disperse the protesters and arrested several of them.
