Lok Adalat seeks views of Railways, PCB

The Ernakulam Permanent Lok Adalat, on Thursday, directed Railways and the Pollution Control Board to give their view on a petition seeking a directive to Railways to prevent dumping of toilet waste from running trains into the open.The petition complained that the waste was neither collected nor treated before being dumped into the open environment. The petitioner, D.B. Binu, a lawyer, said the practice had an adverse effect on the health of the people. Human excreta contained a large number of germs that could cause diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, and other parasitic infections.