Coimbatore Corporation demolished 40 houses in CMC Colony, Ukkadam, to allow the construction of the Ukkadam-Athupalam flyover. A team led by Assistant Town Planning Officer A. Babu undertook the operation of demolishing houses that were mostly tile or asbestos sheet roofed and were several decades old. The Monday’s demolition comes a couple of weeks after the Corporation demolished houses in the Dhobi Kana in Ukkadam.
The Corporation, with help from the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (formerly Slum Clearance Board), had issued tokens to the evicted families, making them eligible to get houses the Board was building in Pillukadu. Until the Board completed the houses, the families would be staying in the temporary structures that the Highways Department had erected in Pillukadu.
The Corporation had so far demolished 304 of the 729 houses identified to be removed from Ukkadam for the flyover project. After disconnecting power supply a few days ago, the Corporation on Monday deployed earth movers to begin the demolition and lorries to transport the debris. It had also sought the help of the Coimbatore City Police for smooth operation.
