Encroachments, mostly asbestos roofed houses, were demolished in Gudiyatham along the dry Kaundinya river, a tributary of Palar, on Saturday, to restore the original width of the river and to prevent inundation of the town during monsoon.
Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) which executes the demolition work said that based on a detailed study, 1,413 buildings, mostly houses, were identified on both sides of the river a few years ago.
Subsequently, 1,283 encroachments were demolished more than a year ago in the first phase of the drive. Remaining structures are being razed now. “After issuing notices, we snapped the power supply that was given to the identified illegal structures, allowing its occupants to vacate by themselves. The demolition drive will be completed in a week,” R. Rajesh, Junior Engineer, WRD (Gudiyatham), told The Hindu.
