Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai   

Corporation removes encroachments at Villivakkam

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

CHENNAI SEPT. 2. Continuing with its eviction drive, the Chennai Corporation today removed nearly 30 structures close to the Villivakkam bus terminus that were encroaching on the road space.

Concrete structures along Sivan Koil North Mada Street and Perumal Koil South Mada Street around the Villivakkam bus terminus were demolished using heavy machinery.

On Sivan Koil North Mada Street situated opposite the terminus, the civic body personnel removed eight permanent structures housing various shops, one Rajinikant rasigar mandram and two party offices belonging to the Congress and the AIADMK, the officials at the spot said. On Perumal Koil South Mada Street abutting the terminus, 18 concrete structures housing hotels, scrap outlets, tea- shops, fast food centres and meat shops were removed.

The operation began at 9 a.m. as the Corporation Zonal officials reached the spot with heavy machinery. A large number of policemen were present to prevent law and order problems. Initially, the occupiers put up resistance against the eviction. At one point, the police had to use lathis to disperse the crowd. Later, they sought an hour's time to clear their respective shops. The demolition of the shops began at around 11 a.m. The encroachments had been in place for the past 20-odd years, the Corporation officials said. K.Vijayakumar, zonal officer in charge, Ayanavaram Corporation Zone, said in the next phase, removal of encroachments would be taken up in congested areas such as Station Road and Red Hills Road. The civic body, he said, has written to the Tiruvallur Collector to clearly demarcate the Villivakkam East Gate Road, which has been reduced to less than half of its width due to encroachments. Villivakkam was brought under city limits in the early Eighties and the land records were still with the Tiruvallur district administration, the civic officials said. On Monday, the civic officials of Kodambakkam Zone removed about 30 concrete houses and thatched huts encroaching on the banks of Mambalam Canal at Nandanam. The structures were demolished so that the heavy machinery required to desilt the canal could make their way into it. At the beginning, about 50 women squatted on the narrow lane preventing the Corporation officials from accessing their houses. The squatters were later removed by the women police personnel. The zonal officials said the encroachments existed at the site for about a decade.

During floods last year, Mambalam, Kodambakkam and T.Nagar areas, especially G.N.Chetty Road, suffered heavy water logging as the canal was not desilted for over 30 years, the officials added.

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