Search Continues for Sanitation Worker Who Went Missing in Thiruvananthapuram Canal

 Thiruvananthapuram: A massive search and rescue operation is underway to trace a sanitation worker N Joy who was swept away by gushing waters while cleaning a canal in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city on Sunday.

Despite the challenging conditions, the scuba team has inspected the 140-metre-long tunnel connected to the Amayizhanjan canal. Another 117-metre long tunnel is also being searched by the divers to trace the missing worker.

"We will continue to scour the remaining portion of the tunnel," said a fire and rescue department official.

The Thiruvananthapuram district administration is taking all necessary steps to augment the search operation including deploying additional scuba divers to navigate the treacherous terrain. The waste dumps and other obstacles in the tunnel are being removed to trace the worker.

Three temporary workers including 47-year-old Joy attached to a contractor were hired by the Railway officials to clean the portion of the canal which passed through the railway station. With heavy rains lashing the city on Sunday morning, the flow of water increased in the canal. Joy was swept away by the gushing waters at around 11 am. Though the other workers threw a rope toward him, Joy could not grab it.

The authorities said all available resources including Bandicoot robots of a Technopark-based company are assisting the NDRF and fire and rescue service department staff in the search operation. The NDRF and Fire Force have undertaken a massive search operation in the area. A Navy team from Kochi will join the search operation soon.

Rights Panel seeks explanation from Collector, Corporation secretary

Meanwhile, the Kerala Human Rights Commission on Sunday took suo motu cognizance of the incident in which sanitation worker Joy went missing while cleaning the waste in a canal.

The rights panel has issued notices to District Collector Geromic George and municipal corporation secretary Jahangeer S, directing them to give an explanation and furnish a detailed report on the incident within a week.

The Thiruvananthapuram corporation and railways have resorted to blame game over the incident. The corporation authorities accused the railways of not cooperating with the cleaning up of the canal in the area falling within their jurisdiction.

Opposition Leader V D Satheeshan lamented that it took a tragic incident involving a missing sanitation worker to expose the massive failure of the corporation to clean up clogged drains in the city. Local bodies minister who mocked the opposition for raising the issue of poor pre-monsoon cleanliness drive owed an explanation to the people of the state in connection with the failure of his department.

He took health minister Veena George to task for failing to organise the pre-monsoon cleanliness drive effectively. As a result, many parts of Kerala were in the grip of viral fever, dengue, rat fever and cholera, he alleged.