Mayors seek Railways’ support for cleaning culverts

The Kerala Mayors’ Council has urged the Southern Railway to cooperate with Mayors to de-clog railway culverts in various parts of the State.

The call comes in the wake of a letter reportedly written by the Divisional Railway Manager to Mayors indicating that the Railways cannot take up the responsibility of cleaning culverts. The council, which met in Kannur, protested against the Railways’ stand, said M. Anilkumar, Kochi Mayor and president of the council.

The culverts have come up at places where waterbodies exist. Railway culverts cannot be cleaned like normal culverts, and it requires some expertise. Hence, the Railways shall cooperate with the civic authorities for cleaning culverts, the meeting demanded.

Kollam Mayor Prasanna Earnest, Kozhikode Mayor Beena Philip, Thrissur Mayor M.K. Varghese, and Kannur Mayor Muslih Madathil attended.