Officials retrieve 10 acres of waterbody from encroachers

According to PWD official from Thanjavur, they have been taking control of 110 acre Sikkapattu Lake at Puliyakudi village near Ammapettai in the district and it was a main source of irrigation for around 1,000 acres in Ammapettai area.

However, around 10 acres of land in the particular waterbody was encroached by as many as 16 persons, who have been cultivating paddy, maize, black gram and groundnuts for the past few years. Though the residents living around the place, put forth to retrieve the encroached portion of the lake for the past few years, no official initiated any step, it is alleged.

Meanwhile, last week, a team of officials, led by the Vennaru Division Superintendent Engineer Tamil Selvan, Assistant Executive Engineer Mokkamayan, visited the spot and surveyed the land. They also installed the boundary stones.

On Friday, the team went there and cleared all the encroachments land with the help of earthmovers. They also said that legal action would be initiated against the encroachers.