THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led Thiruvananthapuram corporation over waste management lapses, General Education Minister V Sivankutty said that the city has not seen such a pathetic condition in the last 40 years.
“The BJP came to power with a promise – ‘Maarathath maarum’ (Whatever hasn’t changed, will change’. However, the current state of the corporation’s work shows that ‘Narathath naarunnu’ (Whatever didn’t stink, is stinking), much like social media comments say. We don’t need a council for blame games,” Sivankutty said.
“The council should consider hosting an immediate all-party meeting on the waste management issue. They need to consult all councillors and discuss with other political parties,” the minister said.
With the worsening of the waste management system in the city, the stray dog issue has also exacerbated, he added.
Commenting that the city is facing a spike in summertime diseases, Sivankutty said the corporation should properly plan and implement the pre-monsoon cleaning in the city and not treat it as just a formality.
“The corporation also failed in handling the summer crises. When I was the mayor here, we provided drinking water facilities in different parts of the city. They could not even handle this effectively,” he said. The minister also pointed out that streetlights are not properly functioning in several areas within the corporation’s limits.
Refuting the claims made by BJP leaders that the state government had been imposing punishing actions on the corporation, Sivakutty said that the government and the court have the legal responsibility to intervene if the corporation is not taking appropriate action to solve the issues.
“Despite tall claims of the Prime Minister announcing a development blueprint for the corporation, nothing has materialised. How long can they blame the state government for all these?” he questioned.