Public Works Department (PWD) carried out a drive to remove encroachments from Mudakathan tank here on Monday. Several small settlements and a big workshop involved in manufacture of burners were demolished, officials from the PWD said.
M. Thiagarajan, Irrigation Inspector, PWD, who oversaw the demolition drive, said that while the total spread of Mudakathan tank was around 16 acres, there were encroachments covering an area of nearly two acres. Another official said that it was, however, difficult to remove all encroachments. “It is not just built structures alone. Even a stretch of road has been laid through the land that technically comes under the tank as per records,” he said.
Maintenance work was recently carried out in the tank as part of kudimaramathu scheme by the PWD. A resident of the area, who was part of the water users’ association created to implement the maintenance work under the scheme, said that the PWD should have removed all the encroachments as part of the maintenance work. “A budget of ₹ 19 lakh was allocated for the work, using which only a portion of the tank was de-silted and bund strengthened. However, supply channels were not cleared and encroachments were not removed, because of which sewage water gets filled in the tank now,” he alleged.