Following a direction from Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, Public Works Department has started pumping out stagnant water from the district court complex here.
The PWD authorities began work outside the complex, early in the morning, to clear encroachments which blocked the drainage flow. Earthmovers were deployed near the K.K.Nagar arch where the drainage system was dug out. PWD officials overseeing the operation said the drainage system was being readied so that the stagnant water could be pumped out from the court complex. It would be ready by Saturday evening, so that water could be pumped out on Sunday. The pumped out water would be drained into Vandiyur tank.
“All the encroachments blocking the culvert across Melur highway were removed,” said T.Subramaniam, Executive Engineer, PWD Periyar Vaigai Basin Circle.
The court had earlier directed the Executive Engineer, Water Works Department and Executive Engineer, Building Maintenance, to pump out stagnant water on the court premises and file a status report.
A division bench of Justices M. Venugopal and Abdul Quddhose had observed that immediate steps should be taken to remove stagnant water till a permanent solution was arrived at. In the wake of increasing cases of dengue, the stagnant water could be a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes. Draining water from the court premises would bring relief to advocates, litigants and the general public, the court had said.
Earlier, a division bench of Justices K.K.Sasidharan and G.R.Swaminathan had also called for a status report from authorities on issues plaguing the district court, which included the security audit of the court campus.
