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Tamil Nadu
The well which was closed by Highways Department on Sunday. TAMBARAM: Officials of the Chennai City Roads wing of the State Highways Department closed a public well adjacent to the Velachery Main Road in Selaiyur at Tambaram on Sunday. While officials said they were following an order of the Madras High Court, residents said closing the public well would deprive them of access to water. Officials said the owner of a commercial complex had filed a case in the Madras High Court stating that the location of the public well was not only a hindrance to his building, but also posed problems to motorists and other road-users near the spot on the Velachery Main Road. Officials said that following directions from the Madras High Court, they tried to close down the well on a few occasions earlier, but were unable to as residents protested. Though residents from several localities in Selaiyur had been drawing water from the well for over 50 years, they had to comply with the instructions of the High Court. They added that the Tambaram Municipality had also made it clear that they were no longer maintaining the public well. Under such circumstances the well had to be closed down in the larger interest of motorists, they said. However, residents were upset over the closure of the only public well in the area they had been using so long. “Isn’t the Tambaram Municipality aware that we have been drawing water from this well? The local body administration and the elected council are answerable to residents’ plight,” said K. Dhanasekar, a Selaiyur resident. R. Kala, who lives in a house close to the public well, said while they used Palar water supplied by the municipality for drinking and cooking, they were dependant on water from the well for other purposes. Even when domestic wells dried up, water was available in this well. Residents said the argument of the Highways Department that it was a hindrance to free flow of traffic was unacceptable. “The well is located outside the margins of Velachery Main Road. In many other spots on Velachery Main Road, encroachments have eaten into the carriageway but the Highways Department has not initiated any action against them,” Mr. Dhanasekar said. Even in the past, encroachments were evicted by the Highways Department only to ensure easy access to commercial establishments and not for widening or other improvement works. Officials said the exact margins of Velachery Main Road had been identified and they had plans to remove encroachments on its property along this arterial road.
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