In an effort to give further impetus to the rejuvenation of the polluted Cooum, the Water Resources Department (WRD) is in the process of identifying commercial structures that have encroached upon the waterway in city limits.
The department plans to remove 10 commercial structures that have encroached upon the riverbed near Aminjikarai and Koyambedu from Thursday. These include hardware shops and small eateries. The work is being taken up under the Integrated Cooum River Eco-Restoration project, which is progressing at a slow pace.
Nearly 12,000 buildings, including residential colonies, were identified to be removed from the riverbank for a stretch of nearly 15 km between Koyambedu and the Cooum estuary near the Napier bridge. However, the number of commercial structures that have to be cleared is yet to be enumerated. This is being done in a phased manner as it involves coordination with various government agencies, including the Revenue Department, said officials of the WRD.
The department has been clearing residential structures that have encroached upon the riverbed for nearly a year. Evictions had to be temporarily stopped due to stiff opposition from the residents.
Officials of the WRD said preliminary work, such as razing down the encroached portions and clearing debris, had been completed. Work to widen the waterway in the reclaimed portion of the riverbank and also desilting the waterway would be initiated soon. In some places, the river will be widened to its original width of 200 to 240 metres.
The department has taken up work simultaneously on two stretches of the 32-km long river — between Paruthipattu anicut near Avadi and Koyambedu, and between Koyambedu and the Napier bridge.
