Garbage issue turns serious

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hinting at what is in store if the Kudumbashree Clean-well units engaged in collecting garbage decide to call it quits, the waste collection and transportation in the city was thrown into disarray with their one-day strike held on Wednesday. Starting from the traffic chaos that they caused in the heart of the city by lining their vehicles in front of the Secretariat to the stinking waste which could be found dumped on the roadsides, the warning signs were  aplenty. It was the untoward incident where two drivers who were steering the garbage heap from the city to Vilappilsala waste treatment plant on Tuesday night were beaten and trashed  by a group of local people that prompted the Cleanwell workers, drivers and even the Corporation officials, including the Mayor, to vent out their angst in front of the State’s administrative abode on Wednesday morning. According to Corporation officials, one of the drivers was asked to descend from the vehicle and was beaten up quite severely.  It was only around 10 pm and the Corporation officials who reached the spot complained to the nearest police station. ‘’Though a group of local people were arrested, they were let off soon. That demoralised our drivers. When they decided to strike work on Wednesday, we decided to support them,’’ said Pushpalatha, Health Standing Committee Chairperson of the City Corporation.  V Sivankutty MLA and Mayor K Chandrika spoke against the injustice done to the drivers as the Cleanwell workers shouted ‘Stop Vilappilsala goondaism.’ Finally, the police officials who reached the scene promised to take action against the local people who had been detained for the violence.  Though the agitation in front of the Secretariat ended by noon, the strike continued, which saw many Cleanwell units refraining from collecting and transporting waste to the scheduled points. Those who turned up for job late in the day collected the waste, but stored it in cartons and dumped it one over the other on the roadside. Some units managed to carry the waste to the transporting points; however, with the lorries not turning up, they had to hide it at places which would not invite the protests of the residents there.