An irate public slashed the tyres of a lorry and burnt the vehicle that was bringing toilet waste from Cheranallore to be dumped along the sides of the Container Terminal Road at Mulavukad here early on Sunday.
Mulavukad police said a group of about 60 people gathered around the lorry, slashed its tyres, and detained the driver and cleaner when the vehicle arrived near North junction at Mulavukad around 2 a.m. Police officials arrived on the spot and took the driver Shajahan and cleaner Shahin into custody. “While we were taking them to the station, the people gathered there burnt the vehicle,” said a police official. Police later arrested four people from the mob on charge of damaging the vehicle and are likely to make more arrests. The police are yet to trace the owner of the vehicle and the person who employed the two men to dump the toilet waste along the roadside.
Local residents said the stretches of land along the sides of the Container Terminal Road had become a dumping ground for the city. “This problem began soon after the new road was built. Our panchayat has become a dumping yard for the rest of the city,” said Mulavukad panchayat president A.K. Dinakaran. “The problem is really serious. We have complained to several authorities, but no action has been taken yet,” said Mr. Dinakaran.
