The Hindu             21.10.2013

Corpn. to remove encroachments on Sathyamangalam Road

To ease traffic congestion on Sathyamanagalam Road and increase the flow of sewage in drains in the area, Coimbatore Corporation will in the next few days remove encroachments, Mayor S.M. Velusamy told journalists on Saturday.

For long, the Corporation has been trying to work on the Textool Bridge — Maniakarampalayam Road Junction stretch of the Sathyamangalam Road but it was unable to do much because the road belonged to the National Highways.

Easy flow of traffic

Left with little choice, the Corporation now planned to do what best it could: remove encroachments.

Once the encroachments were removed, it would ease the flow of traffic and also pave way for the civic body to construct drains.

And the drains would reduce problems related to inundation in Ganapathy.

North Zone Chairman P. Rajkumar said that the one-and-half-kilometre stretch was full of encroachments. The worst-affected area was the place where the Velan Cinema once stood. There the level of encroachment could be up to 10 feet. Once the Corporation carried out the eviction drive, it would result in free movement of vehicles on the road, which had of late seen increase in traffic due the presence of information technology companies.Many shopping complexes and a mall were being constructed, he said and added that the eviction drive should be carried out at the earliest.

If the Corporation were to also construct drains, it would prevent inundation in Ganapathy Pudur and old Ganapathy town, for the drains would easily carry the water to the natural drain just north of the Ganpathy bus stand.

At present, even the slightest of rains resulted in inundation in the two areas, both of which were thickly populated.

The Hindu             03.10.2013

Soon, Porur lake to be cleared of encroachments

Staff Reporter

The Water Resources Department (WRD) is planning to remove encroachments that have come up on Porur lake. The work will begin in a few days.

The department is in the process of issuing notices to the 20 structures that have recently encroached upon the lake near Koluthuvancheri and Thelliagaram in Iyyapanthangal. It will seek the support of the revenue department to remove these huts, officials said.

Residents of Porur alleged that the encroachments have returned as there was a delay in allotting alternative housing to residents who were evicted from the same site a few years ago.

WRD officials said the eviction drive had not begun yet due to a pending court case. Once the eviction is completed, the lake area will be secured to prevent further encroachments upon the water body.

Meanwhile, about 70 per cent of the project to rejuvenate the lake, spread over 250 acres, has been completed so far. Officials of the department said that a bund is being formed spanning a distance of nearly 2.5 km.

Work to strengthen the existing bund for a distance of about 3 km is also progressing well.

“We are also fencing in a portion of the main bund along Mount Poonamallee High Road,” said an official.

However, work to desilt the water body and deepen it by two metres to increase its capacity is progressing slowly due to the intermittent showers.

About 100-150 loads of silt are being removed from the lake daily.

“We will be able to complete the project in time by July next year. The lake will then be able to hold 70 million cubic feet of water, and this can be used to augment water supply to Chennai,” an official said.

The water resources department is issuing notices to 20 huts that have come up on the water body.