THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Human Rights Commission on Saturday announced a direct investigation on unabated waste dumping in Amayizhanchan Canal — one of the polluted sewers passing via the capital city. The Commission on Saturday took a suo motu case following a report published in the TNIE.
The article which documented the polluted canals in the state capital discussed the apathy of various departments in carrying out pre-monsoon sanitation drives in Amayizhanchan Canal and other stormwater drains in the capital city.
The decision to investigate comes in the wake of allegations that various institutions, including the Railways and private parties, continue to dump waste in the canal even after the tragic incident that claimed the life of a sanitation worker while trying to remove garbage from the canal.
Commission chairperson Alexander Thomas said that a team led by IG and members from the investigative wing of the Human Rights Commission will probe into the matter and submit a report on the dumping of waste in Amayizhanchan Canal.
The chairperson has been ordered to submit a comprehensive report within two months after a thorough investigation whether more attention from police is required to curb dumping. The commission has also directed the superintendent engineer of irrigation department and the corporation secretary to offer all help to the investigating team.
The investigation team has also been directed to hold sittings with the corporation secretary, railway divisional officer and irrigation superintendent engineer.
In an effort to curb dumping of waste into the canal, the civic body has deployed day squads and night squads. An official of the health wing under the city corporation said that the dumping of waste has come down drastically.
“The squad is active along the canal and we have deployed multiple squads. We were able to bring down waste dumping to some extent,” said the official. Despite all these measures, dumping of waste continues unabated.