Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Eviction drive: Traders allege bias

Staff Reporter

Map provided by Highways Department believed to be doctored

TIRUNELVELI: : Even as the anti-encroachment drive by the Corporation and highways officials continued in and around Tirunelveli Junction for the second day on Tuesday, a majority of traders and the public here allege that the officials were showing favouritism while removing illegal constructions.

The officials of Corporation and Department of Highways commenced the exercise at Vannarpettai on Tuesday morning, where they removed some of the illegal constructions. However, a section of the traders could be seen constructing the removed portions within a few hours.

Since the building housing a wine shop close to the Tirunelveli Junction bus stand was totally on government land, it was completely pulled down. The roadside eateries and teashops, telephone booths near the Super Market were removed and illegal constructions in front of business establishments near Hotel Prabhu were removed.

But no official dared to remove the encroachment on the western side of the Tirunelveli Junction bus stand for reasons best known to them. When reporters raised questions over this preferential treatment, a top official of Tirunelveli Corporation, as a damage control measure, said these encroachments, put up by the traders in the Corporation buildings, would be removed in the second phase.

An official admitted that the assessment done by the surveyors of Highways Department and the maps prepared by them "were full of flaws, since some of the flagrant violations at Palayamkottai have not been shown as encroachments." "We strongly believe that the map provided by the Highways Department is a doctored one. Unfortunately, we are being forced to follow this map, which may attract the High Court's anger against us," he said.

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