THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Monday, it was the victory of the womenfolk at Vilappil Panchayat. It was the women and children who fanned across the road to prevent the City Corporation from transporting garbage to the Vilappilsala garbage treatment plant.
‘’For us, this is a do-or-die situation. If we fail today, our efforts of all these months will go futile,’’ said Ramani, 48, a daily wager who participated in the strike.
The apolitical Janakeeya Samara Samithi is also in a jubilant mood. The Samithi’s strategy to deploy women and children as the frontline agitators finally paid off. The police deterred from hard actions as they feared that it would result in big casualties.
‘’We didn’t act tough since it was a narrow road where the masses crowded. Even a minor scuffle would result in a big casualty there,’’ said a top police official.
Samithi convenor Burhan said that they would keep constant vigil to prevent the functioning of the plant. ‘’We will not allow a single truck into Vilappilsala,’’ he said.
Injured
Several women agitators who fainted and were injured during the police action were admitted to various hospitals in the city. Around 15 persons, including women and children, were admitted to the Medical College Hospital (MCH) and private hospitals, said Vilappil panchayat president Sobhanakumari.
Sobhanakumari and office-bearers of the Janakeeya Samara Samithi visited District Panchayat member N R Baiju and the other injured who were admitted to the MCH, on Monday evening.
Mayor’s Charge
Mayor K Chandrika has alleged that the State Government had colluded with the police to defeat the Corporation move to transport garbage to the Vilappilsala garbage treatment plant. ‘’The police and the Government were not sincere in their efforts. We will apprise the Court of Monday’s happenings,’’ she said.
The City Corporation has also announced that there will not be any transportation of garbage to the
Vilappilsala plant on Tuesday.