Kerala Governor meets family of sanitation worker following canal tragedy

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan visited the family of Joy, a sanitation worker who lost his life while cleaning a canal. Governor went to meet Joy's family to offer his condolences during his visit.

Officials confirmed that Joy, aged 42, went missing on July 13 while working in Thiruvananthapuram. His body was discovered approximately 46 hours later in a canal behind Sree Chitra Home at Thakarapparambu. Rajendran, a Councilor of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, said that the police and municipality authorities were immediately informed about the same.

Joy had disappeared while cleaning a drainage canal at Amayazhinchan Thodu near Thampanoor Central Railway Station during heavy rains. He accidentally fell into the canal that runs beneath the railway platform.

Rescue operations involved personnel from the Fire Force, National Disaster Response Force, and Indian Navy. Despite efforts by scuba diving teams, who even entered manholes between railway tracks, and a robot with a camera sent into the tunnel, the presence of solid waste hindered their search efforts.

Scuba driver Vojin M who was part of the Thiruvananthapuram unit said during the search, "We are carrying out the rescue operations at the third platform right now. However, due to the excessive waste and very little water, it is impossible to dive deep inside the canal."

He further said that they had also sent a machine with a camera to as pitch darkness inside the canal made it difficult to spot anything. "We had sent a machine with a camera earlier, but due to the darkness inside the canal, it is very difficult to dive deep and find the body."

Agencies