Coonoor: The Nilgiris district administration here has finally plunged into action to remove the encroachments along water sources around the bus stand area here in Coonoor town limits, as the residents wanted unbiased action to remove all such encroachments.
While the Madras High Court passed orders to remove encroachments in Coonoor early this year, the officials, both revenue and municipality, took time all these months to identify and prepare a list to finally act on the encroachments.
The "mission demolition" began minutes before sunrise in the Bus stand-TDK road here at Coonoor on Tuesday early hours as the officials arrived there with full contingent of staff to carry out the demolition as police pickets were posted in the area for security cover.
The officials demolished 46 shops, that were encroachments along the nearby stream in Bus-stand TDK road. Official sources said that out of 72 such encroachments identified along the nearby water source there, 46 have been demolished on Tuesday. The resent will be removed in the coming weeks, sources added.
Meanwhile Mr.S. Ananthakrishnan, member of Citizens' Forum of Coonoor, who had been very vocal on encroachments in Coonoor, rued that the officials turned a blind eye to two buildings built on encroached land along the bus stand by two political bigwigs belonging to both DMK and AIADMK in Coonoor. "These encroachments of political connections should have been demolished first," he demanded.
