Piles and piles of waste lay accumulated near a public market in Ernakulam. A man in a pink shirt with a blue mask sat in front of the dump, in protest, demanding the removal of the waste.
Thanks to AM Basheer subordinate judge and Ernakulam Legal Service Authority Secretary and his unique protest, the corporation resolved the issue in no time, cleaning up the entire dump.
"I came here after the public complained about the waste dumped here. The situation is terrible here. Humans can't live here," Basheer told Mathrubhumi
The market sees 12-15 tonnes of waste being piled per day and the garbage had accumulated over 10 days, worsening with the onset of the monsoon. Yet, the Kochi Corporation had chosen to ignore the problem.
Basheer told the media here that team had actually come to the market to check the quality of the produce that is being sold and to verify vendor licenses. However, the garbage issue was bigger than all of that.
"We had earlier received multiple complaints from over 30 places in the city about mounting piles of garbage and this is the first spot that we visited. The pile in the midst off 212 wholesale vegetable stalls had started rotting. The rains worsened the situation," Basheer told TOI
Corporation officials, however, reportedly denied that they had received any complaints about the garbage being dumped in the market.
Following the protest, corporation trucks came and cleaned the garbage in less than 5 hours. According to reports, 15 loads of waste were removed by the trucks and the entire place was cleared by 4 pm. Basheer also stood at the site until the entire place was cleared.
Judge Basheer said that a committee will be formed with merchants and local residents to oversee the proper disposal of waste in the locality.