Two large ponds in south Kolkata have been restored and enclosed to protect them from pollution and encroachment, while Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari alleged that 5,000 water bodies had been filled up in Kolkata and adjoining areas under the previous government.
The restoration work was carried out at Itkhola-1 and Itkhola-2 in Ward 114 under Borough 11 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The two water bodies, located near the Kudghat Metro station and the Purba Putiary market, cover approximately four acres and three acres respectively.
Speaking at a civic event in the Tollygunge Assembly area, Adhikari said the ponds had been excavated again after being almost filled up and were being protected from encroachment. He named the restored water bodies Shiv Jalashay and Shakti Jalashay. The event marked the inauguration of a stage of the pond-boundary and improvement work.
According to the report, the ponds have been surrounded by boundary walls to prevent waste from entering the water and contaminating it. Work to strengthen and finish the pond edges is currently under way. The restoration is being handled by the municipal drainage department as part of a wider programme involving environmental improvement and infrastructure upgrades.
The report said the civic body received a special grant of nearly Rs 500 crore under the central government’s National Disaster Management Fund programme. The funds are intended to support infrastructure as well as environment-friendly development. Two separate projects for the restored ponds received allocations of Rs 5.79 crore and Rs 3.58 crore, respectively.
Adhikari alleged that ponds had been filled across an area extending from Joka and Haridevpur to Barasat and Madhyamgram, within the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority region. He blamed councillors of the Trinamool Congress for the alleged loss of the water bodies and said the earlier government had damaged Kolkata’s environment. These allegations were made at the civic programme and were not independently established in the report.
The restoration effort places the condition of Kolkata’s remaining ponds within the responsibilities of municipal drainage and urban development agencies. Water bodies can function as local storage spaces during heavy rain, but the report does not provide a city-wide assessment of their current capacity or the number of ponds that remain at risk.
The immediate work at Itkhola-1 and Itkhola-2 is focused on excavation, boundary protection and pond-edge construction. The civic authorities’ next steps are to complete the ongoing pond-bunding work and continue using the grant for restoration and environment-related infrastructure projects.
