Market construction halted

Construction of a market on a decades' old pond by the authorities of Bidyaganj Rani Rajbala Bahumukhi High School in Sadar upazila has stopped following an order by the Department of Environment (DoE).
A good portion of the pond was already filled up by the authorities to build 18 shop to increase earning of the school.
Locals protested the move while several reports on the issue were published in different national dailies including The Daily Star.
Md Abdul Azim, assistant director of DoE, said the school authorities were asked on Sunday to stop the construction work as the matter goes against the environment laws.
In 1946, Jibendra Kishore Acharya Chowdhury, a zamindar of Muktagachha, established the school on 3.78 acres of land that included a huge pond. Now about 900 boys and girls read in the school.
Locals alleged that the school pond was being filled up to financially benefit a section of people, not the institution.