Protest brings relief to Kochuveli residents

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Setting an example for the city, residents near Kochuveli railway terminus have won their fight against injustice through peaceful but mass protest.
Corporation and Southern Railway who have been at loggerheads with local residents regarding the dumping of garbage waste to build a new platform at Kochuveli Terminus, has now relented to the pressure and have begun constructing temporary walls from Friday to prevent garbage from getting strewn around during rains.
Residents termed this as a victory against the apathy of government officials, they added that the vigil would be maintained to ensure that the project gets completed adhering to the guidelines. The project to build a new platform at the terminus by filling up and raising the area through right mixture of soil and garbage waste was kick started during the second week of June.
However residents, who found that corporation dumped hotel waste instead of the non-biodegradable waste, started a massive protest which resulted in corporation stopping the movement of garbage. Though the works resumed in July, only trucks carrying soil entered the premises fearing outburst from public.
Jayakumar K S, member of Kochuveli Samara Samithi, a body that was formed by residents to protest against garbage dumping told TOI that locals were never against the project. “But when the authorities decided to ignore the basic guidelines, we decided to object. Originally, corporation promised dumping of non-biodegradable waste like plastic and rubber, but instead brought hotel waste, the disintegration of which would have polluted the underground water. Railway, meanwhile, was not constructing protective walls or concrete layer to prevent waste from scattering in case of a heavy rain,” he said.
E K Shaji, a resident said that monitoring of the works would continue and any plan for misconduct would be prevented. Deputy mayor G Happy Kumar who stated that railway was proceeding with the setting up of temporary walls added that all efforts would be taken to ensure that residents were not affected by the project.