COIMBATORE: The encroachments in and around Rajavaickal in Karumbukkadai of the south zone of the city, that came up over the last 50 years, were cleared by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) officials, on Saturday. While the channel is being desilted, other buildings and structures near the waterbody are being razed down by the town planning section officials.
The Rajavaickal channel takes surplus water from the Periyakulam waterbody to Noyyal River. With the channel being around five kilometres long, major portions of the waterbody were encroached upon by people. The encroachments in the channel clogs the water-flow and as a result, nearby residential areas often face waterlogging during monsoon.
Demands grew louder from the locals and social activists, to remove all encroachments around the channel and ensure the free flow of rainwater by desilting the waterbody.
Following this, CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran along with other officials visited the area and inspected the channel few days ago.
Later, he instructed the town planning officials to serve notices to all encroachers and remove them at once. However, some refused to vacate and on Saturday, officials began removing the encroachments using earthmovers.
Speaking to TNIE, an official from the town planning section said, “Around 25 houses and two commercial shops were identified encroaching the channel. Certain portions of buildings including compound walls, parking spaces, building extensions, roofs, ramps and other structures were found encroaching the Rajavaickal channel. The encroachments on the channel and its bund have been there for almost 40-50 years. After a 15-day notice, we’ve started demolishing them. In the first phase, encroachments situated in a one-kilometre stretch are being razed down.”