The residents here on Thursday prevented PWD officials from re-opening drains at Chottanikkara which were closed a month ago in view of complaints that hotels and restaurants were discharging human waste into it. Acting on a High Court order to re-open the drains, based on a petition filed by the Hotels and Restaurants Association, PWD officials and workers came with an excavator at 9.30 am. However, over 100 protesting residents, including women, blocked the PWD officials. Police had to forcefully dispersed the protesters.
The residents said they would not allow re-opening of drains as hotels and restaurants would continue to discharge human waste into the drains. “Through the drains, these wastes reach the nearby paddy fields and groundwater too gets contaminated,” they said. Meanwhile, the Hotels and Restaurants Association said the PWD had failed to implement the court order in spite of police protection. “We have given a complaint to the PWD Executive Engineer that PWD officials failed to arrange drainage facilities as per the order of the court. This is a political game between PWD officials and politicians,” they said.