Housing at the cost of a pond

A 50-year-old pond with an expanse of 72-decimal area is being filled up with truckloads of earth in Brahmanbaria's Bijoynagar upazila, flouting rules.

Meanwhile, the authorities concerned have turned a blind eye to this.

Located near Chandura-Akhaura regional road, just around 500 metres from the upazila parishad office, the pond has been an integral part of the daily lives of the area's residents for decades.

However, over the last two months, one Malai Miah and his brothers, who claim ownership of the pond's land, have been filling it up.

Locals said Malai and his brothers plan to build a market on the pond's land. "I have informed the UNO about the pond's current state, but no action has been taken yet," said Ziaul Haque Bakul, chairman of Ichhapura Union Parishad.

Contacted, Malai Miah said they bought the pond's land in 2000, adding that he submitted a written application to the UNO for permission to fill it up. "We will build houses here for our family," he added.

However, as per Section 2 of the Water Reservoir Conservation Act-2000, a pond cannot be filled even if it is a private property, while the provisions of the Environment Act-1995 and Natural Water Reservoir Conservation Act-2000 also prohibit filling up of any waterbody.

Locals alleged that the upazila administration and the environment department officials are neither monitoring the issue properly nor taking strict disciplinary action against the law violators.

Contacted, Bijoynagar UNO Rubaiya Afroz said no one has been allowed to fill up the pond.

"The assistant commissioner (land) has been asked to investigate the issue," she added.

"After receiving complaints, I ordered the owners to cease the pond filling work. However, they did not listen to us. We are planning to take further action against them," said Mehedi Hasan Khan Shaon, assistant commissioner (land).