Officials in Kerala have incurred the wrath of citizens after they were caught dumping debris in a river while clearing a bridge.

Unprecedented floods, which have swept Kerala, India, have left a trail of debris, especially on the bridges.

As the rivers overflowed, the bridges acted as a sieve to filter and collect some of the garbage that was being carried by the current.

Several bridges in Kerala are covered by debris, mostly broken branches and urban waste including plastic dumped into rivers by the people.

Many hoped that the odd sight of bridges choking in garbage would spur officials to manage waste disposal better.

But it quickly became clear that no such lesson had been registered.

Officials who started cleaning up the bridges opted for the easy way out and started dumping the garbage back into the river.

Videos taken by onlookers at Malayatoor-Kodanad bridge on August 19 shows the 253-metre-long (880-ft) structure completely plastered with garbage.

Officials bring in a digger, which gathers the garbage, and starts dumping it back into the Periyar river below.

The visuals sparked off widespread anger and many took to social media to express it.

A well-known radio Jockey Kshitij tweeted: “See what these idiots are doing to clear the Malayattoor bridge. They are putting it back into the river! Will we ever learn?”

Officials in Kerala have incurred wrath of citizens after they were caught dumping debris in a river while clearing a bridge.

Unprecedented floods, which have swept Kerala, India, have left a trail of debris especially on the bridges.

As the rivers overflowed, the bridges acted as a sieve to filter and collect some of the garbage that was being carried by the current.

Several bridges in Kerala are covered by debris, mostly broken branches and urban waste including plastic dumped into rivers by the people.

Many hoped that the odd sight of bridges choking in garbage would spur officials to manage waste disposal better.

But it quickly became clear that no such lesson had been registered.

Officials who started cleaning up the bridges opted for the easy way out and started dumping the garbage back into the river.

Videos taken by onlookers at Malayatoor-Kodanad bridge on August 19 shows the 253-metre-long structure completely plastered with garbage.

Officials bring in a digger, which gathers the garbage, and starts dumping it back into the Periyar river below.

The visuals sparked off widespread anger and many took to social media to express it.

A well-known radio Jockey Kshitij tweeted: “See what these idiots are doing to clear the Malayattoor bridge. They are putting it back into the river! Will we ever learn??”