Seemai karuvelam trees removed from Aroor lake

COIMBATORE: Works on removal of ‘seemai karuvelam’ (prosopis juliflora) trees in the sprawling Aroor Lake in Mohanur in Namakkal district took off on Friday.

Collector Shreya P Singh, who inaugurated the eradication of the invasive plants, directed the Public Works Department (PWD), revenue department and local body authorities to ensure that the area is free of the species completely.

“After axing down the branches, the trees had to be removed from their roots. No other trees grown surrounding the water body should be cut down,” she said.

Also, the Collector directed the PWD authorities to plant palm seedlings along the lake bunds under ‘Namadhu Namakkal, Pasumai Namakkal’ project.

The lake, spread over in an area of 117 hectares, has a capacity to hold 45.097 million cusecs and irrigates 153.80 hectares of farm land through its channels running through a length of 1.260 metres. The surplus water from Thusur Lake flows into this lake, which if filled up, flows into the Andapuram Lake.

The Collector, who sought information on the spread over area of the lake, location of houses and farm lands in the surroundings, had advised authorities of the revenue department to take immediate efforts to remove encroachments, if any. District Revenue Officer (DRO) N Kathiresan and other officials were present.