Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran breaks down over death of sanitation worker

Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran, was visibly emotional, breaking down in tears after the tragic discovery of N Joy's body in the canal. He was found dead in a canal on the Pazhavangadi-Thakaraparambu-Vanchiyoor road by Thiruvananthapuram Corporation sanitation workers on Monday, almost two days after he went missing.  

Thiruvananthapuram: Mayor Arya Rajendran broke down after failing to save N Joy, a sanitary worker who went missing while cleaning a waste-filled canal in the state capital. The mayor's emotional breakdown comes amidst criticism of the corporation's ineffective management of drainage and pipe clearance in the city. MLA CK Hareendran of Neyyattinkara offered solace, stating, "Despite the passage of time, we held onto hope to save Joy's life."

Hareendran said that Joy belongs to a poor family and needs help to secure the life of his mother and said that he will request the Chief Minister about this. 

On Monday, sanitation workers discovered the decomposed body of Joy, a missing sanitary worker, in the canal along the Pazhavangadi-Thakaraparambu-Vanchiyoor road, nearly 48 hours after he vanished. The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation faced intense scrutiny for its inability to clear solid waste clogging the Amayizhanchan canal, particularly the sections traversing railway property, leading to Joy's tragic fate.

Joy, a temporary sanitation worker hired by a railway contractor, disappeared while attempting to clear a canal heavily clogged with waste. He and two colleagues were working on the Thampanoor section of the canal near the railway station when a sudden surge of water, triggered by heavy rainfall, swept him away into a 140-meter-long tunnel beneath the platform tracks at the central railway station.