Villagers demand removal of encroachment

Madurai: Residents of Vayalur village in Madurai thronged the district collector’s office on Monday to petition against encroachments along the either sides of the Periyar water channel, which hinders the waterflow to their village for agricultural needs.
The villagers, in their petition stated that private parties have encroached lands on either side of the channel and some of them have done so in patta lands of the villagers too.
The villagers claimed that the private persons also grew coconut trees in the stream leading to the village and have been preventing the waterflow.
According to the villagers, these encroachments have been in place for over a decade now and despite repeated representations to authorities, no action has been taken thus far.
About 750 acres of agricultural lands are dependent on water from these channels and for the past four years, cultivations have been near impossible, the villagers said.
“This year, before the cultivation period starts, authorities should take steps to remove the encroachments for our benefit. We request the authorities to visit our village and survey numbers that are encroached,” B Kannan, one of the petitioners said.