Officials clamp down on nala encroachment at Manikonda

Manikonda: Two days after clamping down on encroachment at Palle Cheruvu Bund in Mailardevpally mandal in Rajendranagar, the Revenue officials of Gandipet on Friday drove their machines to clear incursions in Yellamma Cheruvu in the Manikonda area.

A team of officials, led by Gandipet MRO Shekar, touched down on the lake area and removed a pipeline being built by over-running the feeding nala purportedly with a mala fide intention.

The huge pipe, purportedly laid in bits and pieces to over-run the nala passing through the Jana Chaitanya Colony, was removed using JCB machines. The nala was restored. It is said that around a thousand square yards of water body land has been encroached. This prompted officials to act against encroachers.

It is said that Rangareddy district Collector Amoy Kumar and Rajendranagar Revenue Divisional Officer Chandrakala took serious note of the encroachment. They instructed the Gandipet Revenue officials to take appropriate action against land sharks. It was against this background that the Revenue officials inspected the area a few days back and took stock of the encroachment. A team of officials reached the spot on Friday and removed the pipeline.

Two days back the Revenue team of Rajendranagar, led by MRO S Chandrashekhar Goud, had pulled down the encroachment over the Palle Cheruvu Bund and seized four vehicles for dumping gravel in the lake area. They booked a criminal case against the encroachers. This is the seventh such clampdown on encroachments during the last five months in Rajendranagar. It began in November 2021 and is the third from January this year.

Welcoming the collector and RDO's swift action, Syed Iftekhar Hussaini, a social activist said, "the latest action against encroachment over the nala in Manikonda sends a strong message that authorities are more firm to prevent such audacities of land sharks who are causing heavy damage to natural resources at the expense of public health, simply for their selfish gains."