A temple being razed as part of the civic body’s eviction drive in Cuttack on Tuesday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 21: The municipal corporation today launched an eviction drive to clear illegal encroachments on both sides of the main storm water channel from Matrubhavan to Matagajpur.

The drive will make it easier for the Cuttack Municipal Corporation to undertake desiltation work in the channel before the monsoon. This is for the first time that the civic body has launched a massive drive to free the main drain from encroachments.

Over 65 illegal encroachments in the form of temporary shops and thatched houses were demolished during the drive.

Among the illegal encroachments that were cleared today included six small temples that had come up on both sides of the drain.

Sources said earlier concerns were expressed over the encroachments that were creating problems in carrying out desiltation of the main storm water channel No. 1.

Moreover, the encroachments cleared along the channel will also facilitate the drain’s renovation as part of the proposed Japan International Co-operation Agency (Jica) project.

“We have cleared encroachments from Matrubhavan to Matagajpur. Subsequently, squatters along the main drain in other parts of the city will be evicted. The drive will facilitate the ongoing work for the Jica project,” said secretary of the civic body Laxmidhar Nath.

Nath said the civic body had conducted a detailed survey regarding the encroachments along the main storm water channel No. 1 and 2.

The corporation has identified over 250 illegal constructions, and according to the availability of police, encroachments will be cleared in various parts of the city in a phased manner.

Sources said similar eviction would be carried out along the main drain from Srivihar Colony to Telephone Bhavan at Bajrakabati and from Telephone Bhavan to Matrubhaban.

“The demolition was carried out peacefully as earlier we had served notices and public announcements were also made to vacate the land,” Nath said.

The two drains form the spine of the city’s surface water drainage channel stretching up to 25km. The civic body annually spends over Rs 1 crore for desilting the drains and other branch drains in the city.