Encroachments, mostly under-construction houses, on the dry portion of an irrigation tank in Melapunjai village near Chengam in Tiruvannamalai, were removed.
Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD), which maintains the tank, said that the building work on the dry portion of the lake was started a few days ago. Based on alerts from residents, the houses were demolished under the supervision of S. Hariharan, AE, WRD (Chengam).
“We are continuously monitoring new encroachments in the tank, which is a lifeline for domestic consumption and farming. Any new encroachments are demolished immediately,” said M. Parasuraman, Irrigation Assistant.
Officials said that the tank is spread over 150 acres in the village. More than 100 hectares of farm lands depend on the tank for irrigating paddy, sugarcane and banana at least twice a year. Water from the tank is also used for domestic consumption by at least 400 households in the village.
Water from nearby hillocks and excess rainwater from stormwater drains in the village are discharged in the tank. The excess water in the tank flows into the Cheyyar river. The tank in Melapunjai village is one of the 50 tanks in Chengam taluk maintained by WRD.
At present, more than 20 illegal houses, which were built over two decades ago, were located on the bund of the tank. Notices have been issued to the occupants by the WRD a few months ago. These houses would also be demolished in the coming weeks after getting orders from the State government, the officials said.
