COIMBATORE: Over 50 residents from ward 43 and 44 argued with Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) Mayor Kalpana Anandakumar and Commissioner M Prathap demanding to stop the construction of a water tank by Suez Projects on a park site in their area alleging that the tank would be used by private players for distribution of water. They further said that tankers trucks would encroach the road and disturb the peace of the area.
Over 45 petitions were filed in the weekly public grievance redressal meeting day held in the CCMC head office in Town Hall on Tuesday. The meeting was presided over by the mayor and the commissioner.
During the meeting, the residents met the mayor and the commissioner and started arguing with them over the issue of the tank construction. The civic body has planned to construct an Over Head Water Tank (OHT) through the Suez Projects Private Limited for the 24x7 water supply project in the area, but the residents opposed the construction.
G Ashok Kumar, coordinator of the Maniyankalippa Street Residents’ Association told TNIE, “Earlier, the CCMC had planned to construct the tank in a different location near Chinthamani Nagar. But, they have now changed it to a park site in our area, where we have been demanding construction of a children’s park with a walkers’ path for the elderly people for many years. Once the OHT is constructed, tanker trucks will encroach upon the road, which will disturb the peace of the area.”
Few residents also went on to question the commissioner on why the water supply works were outsourced to a private firm like Suez. Vinoth Kumar, another resident from the area, said that stretches of vacant lands in the area were turned into a hot spot for prostitution by miscreants and demanded the civic body to take action against it.
Prathap said, “The earlier location did not meet our geographical needs. So, we changed the location to the area in Maniyankalippa street which is an OSR land and not a park site. The OHT is being constructed for the people and not for commercial purposes. People have misunderstood the project as some are misleading them. We have told people to meet us directly and we will clear all their misconceptions.”