A group of people and activists submitted a petition to District Collector G. Govindaraj seeking removal of encroachments on the irrigation tank at Aandipalayam where dredging works were under way.
S. Rajkumar told reporters here that unless an industrial unit, houses, and farm activities were removed from the water holding area of the tank, there was no point in carrying out the dredging and renovation works.
The works were being carried out through the participation of people from different walks of life, including businessmen, youth, and members of non-governmental organisations.
Mr. Rajkumar said that the Corporation’s plan to strengthen the boundaries of the tanks to ensure optimum storage in the tank and the beautification plans like putting up fence along the circumference of the tank would yield full result only if the encroached structures were removed.
The people in the area said that the earlier steps taken by the district administration like providing boating facilities in the tank were left halfway.
Even the blueprint drawn by the administration under the then District Collector C. Samayamoorthy to set up a recreational park on the banks of the tank and providing walking tracks encircling the tank did not materialise, they said.
