Canal, sweet water pond grabbed in Kalapara
This canal, serving as the main drainage passage of Kalapara town in Patuakhali district, is under threat as encroachers have continued building illegal structures there. Photo: STAR
Local influential people on Sunday started building at least 10 structures on an important canal flowing through Kalapara town, adding to over 100 such illegal structures on both sides of the canal. Besides, a sweet water pond, used for washing, bathing and household purposes by locals, especially the Rakhain community people, at Kalachandpara in Kuakata area, is under threat as an influential person is constructing concrete structures on it. A canal flowing from nearby Andharmanik River to Kalapara town and passing beside local Rural Electrification Board and Water Development Board offices serves as an important drainage canal but gradual encroachment is squeezing it. A few people including Rafiqul Islam, Al Amin, Lal Chand, Ripon Biswas and Sajib, all of Office Moholla area, started building temporary structures on the canal on Sunday morning. They are constructing at least 10 establishments on the canal. Rafiqul Islam, who is building a tin-shed house there, said, "I am building a tin-shed house to set up a poultry farm here and I have valid paper of the land. But he did not reply when this correspondent asked him if it was his own land or he took lease from the authority. "Many others are constructing structures after grabbing the canal. And so, I am also building a structure here," said Lal Chand. A few other grabbers declined to make any comments. When contacted, Md Abdul Awal, assistant commissioner of land in Kalapara, said, "After hearing the news I sent a tahshilder from my office and asked him to stop all construction works on the canal. We will take lawful step against grabbers." "The canal helps us to keep the town clean but influential people are occupying it day by day. Authorities should take immediate step to remove all illegal structures from the canal considering its importance," said a local resident seeking anonymity. At Kalachandpara in Kuakata area, local people, especially those from the Rakhain community, use clean water from a khas pond for bathing and washing for long but influential people have started grabbing it too. Although Patuakhali Zila Parishad (district council) is owner of the pond, an influential man has already built permanent structures on it, making the sweet water source narrow and dirty. Moncho Talukder, a Rakhaine, took lease of the pond from the zila parishad to cultivate fish there but influential people are encroaching upon the pond. Usueya Howlader, 70, a Rakhain community leader, said they urged the local administration to save the pond from influential grabbers but to no effect. "The lone road (entrance path) that linked Kalachandpara with the nearby pavement road has been encroached while shops have been built on both sides of the path. Wholesale fish markets, locally called arat, have been built by grabbing our land beside Shibbaria River," he added. When contacted, Khan Mosharraf Hossain, chairman of Patuakhali Zila Parishad, said, "We are taking step to stop construction of illegal structures on our land. We will also take step to remove all illegal establishments to recover the lands."
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