Thirty hours after a sanitation worker, the sole breadwinner of his family, went missing in the Amayizhanjan Canal in the capital, search and rescue operations continued unsuccessfully with no trace of the worker. The extended rescue effort, which riveted the attention of the State for the second consecutive day, also brought into focus the extreme risks that a large majority have to take to earn their daily bread. It also shined an unpleasant light on waste management systems and the lack of upkeep of canals and drains, clogged with legacy waste.
Joy, 42, the sanitation worker who went missing, was put on the job by a private agency which was contracted by Railways to clean a section of the Amayizhanjan Canal, which passes through the railway property under the rails near the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station.
A 140-metre-long section
For the past few days, a group of three workers had been involved in the clean-up of a narrow, 140-metre-long section of the canal. As the rain intensified, the flow inside the canal increased, and Joy was unable to get out on time. Though the fellow workers attempted to rescue him initially with ropes, the efforts were not successful.
On Sunday morning, the rescue efforts were restarted with a 30-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team joining the Fire and Rescue Services personnel who have been coordinating the operations. The scuba diving team that approached the narrow section from both sides were hampered by the solidified waste that had accumulated inside the canal over the years.
Several metres thick waste
“What we encountered inside was a bed of waste which was several metres thick. We could move only in the little space under this, through which the water flows. But when the water level falls, we are also under the risk of getting caught under this,” Jeevan, a scuba diver, told The Hindu. The divers took turns going inside the narrow tunnel, as each of them could stay there only a maximum of 15 minutes at a time due to low oxygen levels.
Since Saturday evening, the rescue efforts have been focussed around a manhole inside the railway station, in between two rail lines, which opens into the canal. Two Bandicoot robots, used to clean clogged drains, were also deployed to remove the large amounts of waste. A robotic machine with a night vision camera was sent inside the tunnel, but even then no trace of the worker could be found.
Railways’ version
M.R. Viji,the Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Southern Railway, refuted the Mayor’s allegation that Railways did not allow the civic body to clean up the part of the canal which passes through its property. She claimed that the Corporation, which used to clean up the section until a few years ago, has since the past year been demanding that Railways take up the work. She said the source of the waste should be addressed rather than blaming the agency which handles only a section of it.
Reminders by Corpn.
A notice issued by the Corporation to the Regional Manager, Southern Railway division, on June 19 said that work on the canal under the Major Irrigation department remains pending at the section which passes under the rails, near the parcel office, and near the Power House Road. Mayor Arya Rajendran said that the Corporation had over the past few months sent reminders to Railways to clean this section as the Corporation workers were not allowed inside. The sanitation worker went missing while carrying out this work.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan also blamed the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation for failing in its waste management duties. Shashi Tharoor, MP, posted in X that he was dismayed by the incompetence and irresponsibility of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
