Near Kowdiar Junction, an unused plot owned by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has been turned into a garbage dump, inconveniencing local residents and passers-by.
The closed compound, located near the Trivandrum Tennis Club and the District Collector’s Camp Office, has been lying unused and unmaintained for years.
For more than a year now, the nearby tea stall and fruit vendors have been dumping their waste in the compound, says Shefin Kowdiar, president of the Royal Kowdiar Protection Forum.
Apart from the stench of decaying garbage that makes it hard to even walk by the area, local residents also have to put up with the resultant mosquito menace.
The vendors have continued to deposit waste in the compound despite repeated requests made by the residents. The issue is further aggravated by the burning of piled-up plastic waste in front of the compound on a regular basis by municipal workers, Mr. Shefin says.
A formal complaint on the issue was submitted by the forum to District Collector S. Venkatesapathy on Friday.
No response to complaints
Several complaints have been submitted earlier to water authority officials including the Assistant Engineer entrusted with the custody of the compound, as well as to the previous city Corporation administration.
The State Human Rights Commission, in response to a petition submitted last October, had also asked the Corporation for an explanation. However, no action has been taken so far by any of the officials concerned. The apathy of the authorities has led to speculations of a nexus between the vendors and KWA officials.
