Some years ago, this was done under the cover of darkness. Now, brazenly in daylight. Large chunks of the protected wetlands on either side of Eastern Metropolitan Bypass are being filled up and taken over by unscrupulous realtors with Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the administration turning a blind eye.
A year-long effort of locals in Chowbhaga to protect an 18-bigha waterbody has gone in vain. Almost the entire jheel has been filled up, turned it into a marshland. The area is located in Ward 108 of KMC, which was in Left hands till this year (under CPM's Amal Majumdar) and is now with Trinamool Congress' Partha Roy Chowdhury.
Another encroachment has been detected less than a kilometre away. A 30-bigha bheri (waterbody) is being slowly filled up despite protests from local residents. In this case, the needle of suspicion points to an academic institute located close to the jheel. A third of the waterbody has already been filled up.
What makes the encroachments all the more shocking is that the waterbodies lie within the precincts of the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), a protected Ramsar site. According to the rules, no permission is granted for any activities that may endanger the wetland.
In KMC records, the 18-bigha site under Nonadanga Mouza is clearly marked as a wetland. But a spot visit on Friday revealed that the character of the site had been surreptitiously altered beyond recognition. There is no water any more. All that remains is marshes. And the telltale signs of deliberate destruction.
According to locals, over the past 12 months, trucks have made hundreds of trips to the site and dumped earth and fly ash to cover the waterbody, gradually reducing it to marshland. No one knows who is behind the encroachment but attempts to block it by the locals have found no support from the administration.
"Letters and appeals to district administration and civic officials have yielded no response. This is theft in broad daylight," alleged resident Bablu Mondal.
In the complaint sent to KMC a year ago, residents alleged that despite their opposition, a company which has an office in Salt Lake began filling up the waterbody. Locals lodged a complaint with Tiljala police station. But no action was taken to protect it.
Mondal's and scores of other families were dependent on the jheel for pisciculture and fought tooth and nail to protect it, as most the inhabitants of the East Kolkata Wetlands do. Environment activists have acknowledged the contribution of the local community in preserving the fragile ecology, pointing out that each is sustained by the other.
Yet, authorities remain blind to encroachments like the one at Chowbhaga as real estate sharks gobble up wetlands. "We were all dependent on the jheel for livelihood. Since it has been filled up, we have become jobless," rued local resident Sasanka Mondal.
With a new board at the helm in KMC, the civic body has finally responded to the helpless appeals by Sasanka and others. KMC chairman Satchidananda Banerjee visited the spot on Friday with local Trinamool councillor Partha Roychowdhury, KMC director-general (buildings) Debasish Kar and other senior officials.
"We will investigate how a waterbody in EKW was allowed to be filled up without permission. No construction activity will be allowed till the probe is completed and ownership of the land settled," Banerjee said. He has asked the KMC building department not to sanction any building plans on the filled up' site before scrutinizing the validity and authenticity of all documents.
The KMC chairman on Friday assured the locals that they would not allow the 30-bigha bheri to be filled up any further. "We have been told that an academic institution is filling up the bheri to expand its business. We will not allow it," Banerjee said, adding: "I was shocked to see how an 18-bigha jheel could be filled up and converted into land for business purpose. We will take strong action. I have asked KMC officials not to sanction any commercial project in the filled up site."
Source: The Times of India 24 July 2010
A year-long effort of locals in Chowbhaga to protect an 18-bigha waterbody has gone in vain. Almost the entire jheel has been filled up, turned it into a marshland. The area is located in Ward 108 of KMC, which was in Left hands till this year (under CPM's Amal Majumdar) and is now with Trinamool Congress' Partha Roy Chowdhury.
Another encroachment has been detected less than a kilometre away. A 30-bigha bheri (waterbody) is being slowly filled up despite protests from local residents. In this case, the needle of suspicion points to an academic institute located close to the jheel. A third of the waterbody has already been filled up.
What makes the encroachments all the more shocking is that the waterbodies lie within the precincts of the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), a protected Ramsar site. According to the rules, no permission is granted for any activities that may endanger the wetland.
In KMC records, the 18-bigha site under Nonadanga Mouza is clearly marked as a wetland. But a spot visit on Friday revealed that the character of the site had been surreptitiously altered beyond recognition. There is no water any more. All that remains is marshes. And the telltale signs of deliberate destruction.
According to locals, over the past 12 months, trucks have made hundreds of trips to the site and dumped earth and fly ash to cover the waterbody, gradually reducing it to marshland. No one knows who is behind the encroachment but attempts to block it by the locals have found no support from the administration.
"Letters and appeals to district administration and civic officials have yielded no response. This is theft in broad daylight," alleged resident Bablu Mondal.
In the complaint sent to KMC a year ago, residents alleged that despite their opposition, a company which has an office in Salt Lake began filling up the waterbody. Locals lodged a complaint with Tiljala police station. But no action was taken to protect it.
Mondal's and scores of other families were dependent on the jheel for pisciculture and fought tooth and nail to protect it, as most the inhabitants of the East Kolkata Wetlands do. Environment activists have acknowledged the contribution of the local community in preserving the fragile ecology, pointing out that each is sustained by the other.
Yet, authorities remain blind to encroachments like the one at Chowbhaga as real estate sharks gobble up wetlands. "We were all dependent on the jheel for livelihood. Since it has been filled up, we have become jobless," rued local resident Sasanka Mondal.
With a new board at the helm in KMC, the civic body has finally responded to the helpless appeals by Sasanka and others. KMC chairman Satchidananda Banerjee visited the spot on Friday with local Trinamool councillor Partha Roychowdhury, KMC director-general (buildings) Debasish Kar and other senior officials.
"We will investigate how a waterbody in EKW was allowed to be filled up without permission. No construction activity will be allowed till the probe is completed and ownership of the land settled," Banerjee said. He has asked the KMC building department not to sanction any building plans on the filled up' site before scrutinizing the validity and authenticity of all documents.
The KMC chairman on Friday assured the locals that they would not allow the 30-bigha bheri to be filled up any further. "We have been told that an academic institution is filling up the bheri to expand its business. We will not allow it," Banerjee said, adding: "I was shocked to see how an 18-bigha jheel could be filled up and converted into land for business purpose. We will take strong action. I have asked KMC officials not to sanction any commercial project in the filled up site."
Source: The Times of India 24 July 2010
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