The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation on Friday filed a petition before the Kerala High Court seeking to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Vilappil panchayat president S. Shobhana Kumari and others for violating court orders on the solid-waste treatment plant at Vilappilsala.
The court had ordered police protection for resuming the operation of the plant and had directed opening of the locked gates of the plant with the assistance of police.
The petitioner alleged that the panchayat president, along with agitators, had organised protests and blocked the movement of garbage trucks to the plant. They had taken law into their hands and created a law- and-order situation at the site. Janakeeya Samithi president Burhanudeen and secretary Beneckson had also committed civil contempt and should be punished, the petition said.
Two loads of solid waste were brought to the plant following the High Court order. When the lorries reached near the site, the panchayat president and the protestors restrained the officials of the Corporation from taking the vehicles into the plant site. The agitators threw stones at the vehicles and the police. The police had to resort to lathicharge and use tear-gas shells to scare away the unruly mob. The Corporation had not been able to implement the court order because of the highhandedness of the panchayat president and the protesters, it added.