Venu ends strike

THRISSUR: Activist K Venu on Friday ended his indefinite hunger strike on the assurance from the district collector that garbage from the Laloor dumping yard will be removed within two months. Venu, who started the fast on February 14, accepted a glass of water from K K Omana, member of Laloor Malineekarana Viruddha Samara Samithy, to conclude his 11-day long strike.“This is not the end. We will monitor the functioning of the administration, and if it fails to keep the promise we will restart our agitation,” Venu said after receiving the assurance from District Collector P M Francis.On Friday evening itself, five garbage-laden lorries set off from the dumping yard in accordance with the agreement reached between the Samithy and the district administration.The Cabinet on Wednesday had asked the Public Works Department to prepare a detailed project report on using solid waste to construct bunds at the kole fields in the district.The decision came after the police arrested Venu and shifted him to the district government hospital forcefully, reportedly after his health deteriorated. However, he continued the fast-unto-death while in the hospital as well. Garbage piled up in the city in the last few weeks after the Corporation halted garbage disposal owing to protest from the residents of Laloor. An estimated 160 tonnes of waste is being generated within the Corporation limits every day.