MADURAI: Hearing a public interest litigation petition seeking action in the matter relating to damage caused to Kallanai in Tiruchy, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has directed Tiruchy Superintendent of Police to file by September 25 a status report on the condition of the regulator and the steps taken on the complaints about damage in it.
Petitioner M Sivakumar of Tiruchy submitted that the strength and durability of the 2000-year-old structure lay in the arrangement of rocks and its sand bed, which if affected, may cause negative impact on the dam’s stability. The petitioner alleged that a contractor Kannaiyan, who had been engaged in widening a road near the dam, had been indulging in stealing rocks from a part of the reservoir. Despite receiving several complaints from the local people as well as the authorities, Kollidam police had not taken any action.
Stating that the sloping passage, from where the rocks had been stolen, had been helping to divert flood water to delta areas and also to prevent soil erosion from the river to agricultural fields, the petitioner prayed the court to direct the officials to file reports on the incidents relating to stealing rocks and the safety measures taken following the damage to pillars.