Malda, Feb. 12 -- The Habibpur Block Administration successfully prevented an illegal pond-filling attempt in Anandnagar village of the Bulbulchandi Gram Panchayat under Habibpur Police Station. On Tuesday afternoon, officials from the Block Land and Land Reforms department, along with the police, conducted a joint operation and stopped the unlawful activity.
According to sources, local resident Pankaj Poddar had been attempting to fill his pond with soil over the past few days. Upon receiving a complaint, Swapan Tarafdar, Block Land Reforms Officer (BLRO) and Shovan Karmakar, Inspector in-charge of Habibpur Police Station, led a sudden inspection. They intervened in the process and ensured that the pond was restored to its original state using a JCB machine to remove the dumped soil.
However, Pankaj Poddar denied the allegations, claiming that he was merely strengthening the pond's embankment and had no intention of filling it. He expressed surprise at the complaint lodged against him. Nevertheless, the authorities issued a strict warning, instructing him to refrain from any activities that could lead to pond-filling. Swapan Tarafdar asserted that their actions successfully halted an attempt to illegally fill the pond.
"Any future attempts to fill ponds would be met with strict legal action. The administration remains firm in its stance that unauthorised pond-filling will not be tolerated under any circumstances," said Tarafdar.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.