A cleaning worker went missing in a canal in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, July 13. Joy (42) a resident of Marayamuttom, was swept off by the currents while cleaning Aamayizhanjanthodu, a canal that people in the surrounding use as a waste dumping zone.
Joy went missing around 11 am. The fire force, a scuba team, police, and local residents have been searching for him. The search is challenging due to the waste deposits in the canal that create an oxygen deficiency beneath the water. The canal is filled with plastic waste, sewage, medical waste, meat market waste, construction site sludge, as well as waste from households and restaurants.
When Joy began cleaning the canal, the water in it was stagnant. But it soon rained, increasing the water flow. Even though other workers accompanying him tried to give him a rope, he could not hold onto it.
The fire force suspects that he might be trapped in the massive waste buildup in the canal. They said that diving is not possible in the canal because it is filled with waste. They also mentioned that the missing person has not been found near the spot where he went missing, so the rescue teams have extended their search to other areas of the canal.
Joy went missing in the part of Aamayizhanjanthodu near the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station in Thampanoor. The railways had contracted sanitation workers to clean the portion near the station, and a team of workers had been cleaning the canal for the past two days.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran told the media that all efforts are being made to rescue Joy.
Aamayizhanjanthodu flows through the heart of Thiruvananthapuram city. In most places, the water is stagnant due to the waste buildup.