In a bid to restore the Cooum, the Water Resources Department is gearing up to remove commercial establishments along the river next month.
Clearing commercial establishments, particularly between Koyambedu and the Cooum’s mouth, has remained a challenge for over two years now.
The Department expects the pending court cases challenging the drive to clear encroachments to come to a close by early February.
Two-year struggle
Sources in the Department said it had been a two-year struggle to reclaim the river’s width.
Of the nearly 14,000 encroachments identified along the river, about 7,500 structures have been removed so far.
Nearly 550 major commercial encroachments have been identified along the 1.2-km stretch of Poonamallee High Road near Aminjikarai and Koyambedu. Of this, nearly 150 need to be removed.
Once the encroachments are cleared, the stretch, running up to 10 m in width, can be reclaimed, officials said.
The Department has cleared about 90% of the encroachments in the stretch between Egmore and Choolaimedu, falling under the Coastal Regulation Zone.
The river’s width varies from 70 m to 250 m in city limits.
“We will resume work to desilt the stretches that are free of encroachments from Monday under the Cooum River Eco-Restoration Project. Eviction of residential encroachments will also resume in a few weeks,” said an official.
