CHENNAI: Based on orders of the Madras High Court, officials of the Water Resource Department and Revenue Department have begun assessment to remove encroachments from the Buckingham Canal. For this purpose, the officials inspected Mamallapuram, Pudhupattinam and surrounding areas recently.
On completion of the ground examination, notices would be issued to the encroachers. A senior WRD official said, “The canal has been encroached on both sides by shrimp farms, and untreated sewage and industrial effluents continue to pollute the water.”
Another official said in keeping with the six-month deadline from the HC, work to remove encroachments between Kovalam and Idaikazhinadu Alambarai, a 70-km stretch, in Chengalpattu district has been expedited. The waterbody is narrowing down due to illegal constructions in Kalpakkam and Pudhupattinam, he said.