Waste dumping: Case against 60-year-old man

KOCHI: The Sending out a clear warning to the public who throw garbage into the water bodies, the city police have registered a case against a 60-year-old man for dumping garbage into the Vembanad lake near Thevara ferry. Jaithran of Matrubavan, Perumanoor was taken into custody on the orders of District Collector S Suhas.

The Collector had ordered the authorities to track down the person following the news story accompanied by a photograph carried by The New Indian Express on July 11 which showed an unidentified person dumping waste into the backwaters. The police registered the case under IPC Section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 120 E of Police Act (defiles water sources or water supply or cause hindrance to public sanitation activities or make the public place dirty or causes serious damage to environment unlawfully).

“A goods vehicle was used to dump the garbage into the water body. Following the Collector’s directive,  we tracked down the vehicle and took  the person into custody. He will have to pay a fine of around `5,000. We released him on bail after the formal procedures,” the police said.

The picture shared by the Collector on his official Facebook page went viral triggering a host of discussions on the garbage menace. Meanwhile, S Suhas said an exclusive project to act tough against illegal waste dumping in backwaters is in the pipeline. “We are planning to tackle the menace. The project will be announced,” said the Collector.