Company incompetence and irresponsibility led to TVM canal accident: Shashi Tharoor | Onmanorama News

Thiruvananthapuram: After a garbage man was swept away in the Amayizhanchan canal in the heart of the city on Saturday, senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor accused the civic administration of “incompetence and irresponsibility” leading to the accident. Tharoor stressed that the civic authorities bear full responsibility for timely maintenance and cleaning of the canals.

Joy (47), a native of Marayamuttom, disappeared while clearing a garbage heap on the premises of Thampanoor Central Railway Station. He was a temporary worker employed by a railway company contractor. He disappeared while working on a 140-metre-long sewer tunnel that runs under the railway station tracks.
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“Dismayed at the incompetence and irresponsibility of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation which led to the disappearance of a man, Joy from Marayamuttam, in the Amayizhanchan trench,” Tharoor said on X (formerly Twitter). He added that Joy “was clearing debris piled up by the City Corporation.”

Tharoor argued that people should not be used for such dangerous tasks when modern techniques are available to carry them out. He demanded compensation for the victim’s family, stating: “Asking people to risk their lives in this way is inexcusable.”
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Tharoor also condemned the initial reaction of Mayor Arya Rajendran and the authorities who blamed the railways and refused to take responsibility for the incident. “If there was any lack of cooperation from the railways, it should have been immediately reported to the concerned central and state authorities and the people’s representatives. The functioning of the municipality has never been at such a low point,” Tharoor said.

He added that infectious diseases like cholera were rampant due to poor hygiene. “Inefficient city administration is the main reason for the recurrence of such disasters,” the Congress leader said at X.