Civic officials of Vaniyambadi municipality retrieved a piece of government land by demolishing illegal structures that were built on it. The land was located on Bharathi Street in Perumalpettai in Tirupattur on Friday.

The civic body’s action comes a day after residents in the area opposed encroachment of government land by a few individuals. Residents said that the government land, which measures around 570 sq.ft, has been classified as Open Special Reservation (OSR) land meant for a children’s park when the residential layout was done more than two decades ago.

The open plot has been used as a small playground since then. “The playground remains the only open plot in the area for children to play safely. As a few individuals tried to illegally occupy the open plot, residents in the area objected to it. We welcome the drive taken by the civic body in retrieving the land for residents,” said S. Mani, a resident.

Residents said that as part of a community initiative, the civic body had also set up a public water tank, which has a capacity of 1,000 litres, in a portion of the open land. Residents can draw water from the tank when water supplied through pipelines is inadequate.

Residents said that they were agitated when a group of individuals demolished the public water tank and a name board that referred to the civic body’s ownership a few days ago.

Municipal officials said that based on complaints by residents, civic staff inspected the area and found damage to the water tank and the name board. Subsequently, the civic body installed a new water tank and name boards.

Civic officials said that fencing will be done around the open plot to prevent trespassing. As per plan, a childrens park will be developed in the open plot in the coming months. It will have tiled walkways, play equipment, seating arrangements, painted compound walls, and washrooms. CCTV cameras will be installed to ensure the safety of visitors.