A judicial officer sat next to a pile of garbage in a market here on Tuesday, lying uncleared for weeks, prompting the civic authorities to swing into action and remove the waste within hours.

Sub-judge and secretary of the Ernakulam district legal services authority A M Basheer resorted to the direct action, after he was informed by traders at the busy Ernakulam Vegetables and Fruits market, that the garbage had been lying for more than a month. Basheer, who was on an inspection to the market to check shops functioning without licences, took a chair from one of the outlets and sat next to the pile of waste, insisting that he would leave the place only after the rubbish was removed.