Vellalore residents allege misuse of funds

COIMBATORE: Alleging that Rs 60 lakh spent by the Vellalore town panchayat towards constructing a channel near Kanjikonampalayam is totally unwarranted, residents of Vellalore in the outskirts of the city have demanded that action should be taken against all those involved. Submitting a petition to the district collector M Karunagaran on Monday, retired public servant E K Athavan said that the 1.5 km long channel is being dug from Kanjikonampalayam to LG Nagar-Phase I for diverting the water to Vellalore tank.
"Even though there is a public works department (PWD) pond nearby to store water, local body officials have unnecessarily taken up this work," he said. Former vice president of Vellalore town panchayat, V Senthilkumar, said that Vellalore is widely known to be a dry area and even during monsoons, water does not flow into the canal. "It would be adequate if desilting works were done at the existing pond but town panchayat officials are unnecessarily wasting the taxpayer's money," he charged.
Residents who came to the collectorate also said that Rs.60lakh spent towards this purpose has gone down the drain. "As the channel lies low when compared to the depth of the Vellalore tank, water would only flow in the reverse direction," they said. Residents believe it would be economical to desilt the PWD pond and another existing channel to bring water to the Vellalore tank. They also demand that encroachments along the existing structures should be removed. "Moreover, we have heard that the sand dug out for the channel is being sold by the authorities without being accounted for," Athavan said.
Demanding that the entire amount should be recovered from concerned local body officials, he said that stern action should be taken against them. On receiving the petition, district collector ordered the officials to visit the spot and submit a report. "The collector has assured action after reviewing the report," Athavan added.