Public Works Department here has begun removing the encroach ments on the banks of the nearly 38-acre Veeramudaiyan tank in Muthupatti on Thursday.
PWD sources said that more than an acre of land had been encroached upon by residential buildings, couple of small temples and compound wall of a private school. “We removed the school compound wall and parts of the residential buildings. The work is expected to get over in another two to three days,” said an official. He added that though there was no stiff opposition from the people residing on the encroachments, some of them had sought time.
“None of them could provide any documentary proof that they were legitimately occupying the land. We had given them a day’s time to remove heir belongings,” the official said. The clearing of encroachments follows the clean-up drive carried out by Alagappan Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association and Vaanthuli People’s Welfare Association to remove all the Prosopsis juliflora (seemai karuvelam) growth in the tank. “Removal of these trees helped us in carrying out a proper survey of the tank and identifying encroachments,” an official said.
Drainage network
While welcoming the initiative, K. Sureshkumar, secretary of Vaanthuli, said that a solution should also be found for the encroachment inside the tank.
“Madurai Corporation’s underground drainage network has been dug through the Veeramudaiyan tank and to cover the manhole, a small patch of mud road has also been laid,” Mr. Sureshkumar alleged.
“If the drainage network is not moved out of the tank, removing the encroachments may not be of much help as it will affect the water quality,” he said.
A PWD official said that they will discuss with the Corporation to take the drainage network along the periphery of the tank.
