Heeding to the requests of Jeeva Nagar residents, the Coimbatore Corporation, on Tuesday, gave them time till October 4 to vacate the houses constructed encroaching a pathway that connected Mettupalayam Road to Thadagam Road through K.K. Pudur.
An official said that close to 180 houses were demolished and 50 were yet to be removed. With residents refusing to move out even after the arrival of officials, Coimbatore MP P.R. Natarajan pacified the residents and the officials. The residents have to shift to the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements allotted to them in Keeranatham, the official said.
Two electrocuted
Meanwhile, two persons were electrocuted while removing the tiles of a house that was spared from demolition by the Corporation at Jeeva Nagar on Tuesday evening.
The deceased were identified as P. Jeyaram (29) of Netaji Nagar near Venkitapuram, and S. Vishnu (18) of Mangalakkaraipudur near Karamadai. They were the relatives of Jeeva Nagar resident S. Paapathi. The incident took place around 5.15 p.m. after workers employed by the Corporation for the demolition left the place.
According to police, the two men climbed the roof of Paapathi’s house and started removing the tiles. Jeyaram’s hand came in contact with an electric line passing above the house. Vishnu suffered shock while trying to save Jeyaram and both died on the spot. The bodies were shifted to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.
