Following the High Court order to evict encroachment on waterbodies, the PWD engineers removed heaps of bushes and other debris from the Vandiyur tank here on Wednesday.
Thanking the district administration for taking steps ahead of the rainy season, Gomathipuram Thendral Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association members said that water flow would be smooth till the tail end along the ninth branch canal of Mullai-Periyar channel as the blocks were cleared.
The engineers, who started the clearing drive around 10 a.m., continued it till 5 p.m.
Encroachments along a distance of 500 metres on the channel were cleared and the operation was likely to continue tomorrow as well, revenue officials at the site said.
The channel, which was originally eight metres wide, had narrowed down over the years due to poor upkeep. As a result, water flow was also not uniform.
Complaints of flooding and stagnation were also there at several points along the stretch.
The residents felt that such a proactive step by the administration should continue as the waterbodies would facilitate swift recharging of groundwater levels in the surrounding areas. Moreover, the chances of flooding also might become a thing of the past, said association advisor D. Raghavan.
The encroachment on the channel was so dense that heavy equipment including bull dozers had to be deployed from Seeman Nagar to the eastern side of the Vandiyur tank near Pandi Koil.
The officials hoped to get the work completed in a day or two and submit a report on the status to the court through the advocate commissioners appointed by it.
