As part of its efforts to prevent encroachments, the Water Resources Department has started to demarcate the boundary of Korattur lake and its supply channels.
Following complaints on encroachments in some portions of the lake, a team of officials is engaged in surveying and demarcating the water body’s boundary. Spread over 600 acres, Korattur lake is one of the water bodies in western part of the City.
Officials said there were nearly 598 encroachments in and around the lake. Of this, nearly 454 encroached structures had been removed since 2018. The process to provide alternative space to the people was in progress to clear the remaining encroachments.
Meanwhile, temporary sheds have been put up in lake area in localities such as Muthamizh Nagar where encroachments were already cleared. When the team of officials visited the site to earmark the boundary, the residents resisted them saying a case was pending in the court. However, they dispersed after officials explained that they were carrying out the exercise to earmark the boundary and it was not an eviction drive.
While welcoming the efforts of WRD to restore the lake, members of Korattur Aeri Pathukappu Makkal Iyakkam (KAPMI), who have filed a case in National Green Tribunal, Southern Zone, said steps must be taken to secure the remaining portions of the lake by removing encroachments.
S.Sekaran, secretary of KAPMI, said the water body was vulnerable to fresh encroachments despite eviction drive in the past. The WRD authorities must form bund and also build compound walls to prevent misuse of the lake.
Officials said a police complaint had been lodged against those who breached the newly laid bund. The department plans to build a compound wall wherever necessary and plan to resume the eviction drive after the lockdown. The joint plan involving various government agencies is under preparation.