Tense scenes unravelled in front of Thiruvananthapuram corporation office on Saturday morning when two men who are engaged in unauthorised collection of waste from households climbed atop a tree and threatened to die by suicide. Fire force personnel and cops are trying to talk them out of suicide bid.
They have been camped out in front of the office for the past ten days, saying that they are being deprived of jobs as the corporation authorised Haritha karma sena workers for collecting non-biodegradable waste. The civic body has also intensified night patrol to prevent the dumping of waste in water bodies following the death of sanitation worker Joy, who died while cleaning the Amayizhanjan canal. The increased vigil by the corporation's health wing has curtailed, to an extent, unauthorised waste collection in the city.
The Office of Mayor clarified that Mayor Arya Rajendran has held talks with the workers and said that they could work together with Haritha Karma Sena. " This was not acceptable for them. We can't allow illegal waste collection from households and contamination of water bodies," a corporation official said.
A release issued by the office said that efforts are underway to rehabilitate people engaged in unauthorised waste collection in the city.
