Amid charges of delay in Corporation’s post-Pongala clean-up, Minister V. Sivankutty seeks RDO report on any lapses

Minister V. Sivankutty requests an RDO report on Thiruvananthapuram Corporation's post-Pongala clean-up delays amid public concerns.

Amid allegations of delay on the part of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation in removing waste from some parts of the city after Attukal Pongala, Kerala General Education Minister V.Sivankutty on Friday tasked the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) with checking for any lapses in cleaning activities and submitting an urgent report.

“Some media reports have flagged delays in garbage removal in some places as well as lapses in cleaning. After the festival, which attracted lakhs of devotees, it is essential to clean the city as soon as possible for reasons of hygiene and to ensure smooth flow of traffic. The Corporation is responsible for cleaning. If there are any shortcomings, strict interventions will be made to resolve them. The government is committed to resolving the difficulties of the people,” said Mr. Sivankutty in a statement.

Although the Corporation authorities, including Mayor V.V. Rajesh, had said that the city streets were completely cleaned up by Tuesday night after the Pongala festival, garbage was seen piled up in various locations in the city. In previous years, the clean-up activities used to be completed on the same day of the festival. Large amounts of waste also remained to be removed in the vicinity of the Attukal temple even on Thursday, due to a dispute between the temple trust and the Corporation’s sanitation staff over whose responsibility it was to clean the area.

Large amounts of garbage seen near Attukal temple premises on Thursday | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Corporation has maintained that the trust usually cleans up the area. A large area near the temple premises was water-logged and turned muddy on Pongala day, preventing devotees from using it for offering Pongala. The Corporation authorities had made similar arguments in that case too, saying that the area is under the temple trust’s control.

However, V.K. Prasanth MLA, former Mayor, said that for the past several years, the Corporation had been cleaning up the temple premises although the place was under the control of the temple trust. “This year, the Corporation appears not to have done it. The lack of planning was evident in collecting and disposal of waste in many places this year,” said Mr. Prasanth.