THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Railways and the corporation are embroiled in a dispute over who is responsible for maintaining Amayizhanchan canal, where a sanitation worker has gone missing.
Mayor Arya Rajendran asserted that the national transporter is accountable for the culvert’s upkeep. In response, railway officials held that waste-management coordination falls within the corporation’s purview, while they ensure no solid waste from their premises enters the canal.
Amid the disagreement, railway authorities contacted the mayor to discuss permanent solutions to keep the canal clean. “Waste flows in from different parts of the city. We cannot take responsibility for that. We have installed a mesh to prevent the plastic from seeping into the tunnel,” said additional divisional railway manager Viji M R. She denied allegations that the railway division office had refused permission to the corporation or the irrigation department to clean the tunnel.
According to her, the Railways backed the rescue operation by opening roads 3 and 4 and by providing food, lighting and additional manpower. It issued a contract to clean the waste on either side of the culvert as a goodwill measure and entrusted the work with a contractor of the irrigation department, said Viji.
It took up the cleaning work on the demands of the corporation and the collector.
The canal was cleaned up in coordination with various departments, as part of Operation Anantha, in 2015. The Railways has a separate contract for removing solid waste from the yard while the wastewater from the pit line is being recycled.