The West Bengal government and Kolkata Municipal Corporation restored two waterbodies in Kudghat on Monday and announced plans to develop the surrounding land as green public space, including walking tracks, tree plantations and fish farming. The ponds, located in Itkhola 1 and Itkhola 2 in Ward 114 of Borough 11, were named Shiv Sarobar and Shakti Sarobar during the programme.
The restoration programme was attended by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin, along with state minister Agnimitra Pal, Industry Minister Tapas Roy, Tollygunge MLA Papia Adhikari and Jadavpur MLA Sharbari Mukhopadhyay. The event was organised as a joint initiative of the Kolkata civic body and the West Bengal government.
Adhikari said the two restored waterbodies would be surrounded by a green belt and a park. The planned facilities include dedicated walking routes for morning and evening walkers, tree plantation and fish cultivation in the ponds. The report did not provide the total area of the waterbodies, the cost of restoration, the implementation agency for the park works or a completion timeline for the proposed facilities.
The Kudghat intervention places the restoration of urban ponds within a wider dispute over the loss and filling of waterbodies in areas under the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. During the programme, Adhikari alleged that 5,000 ponds had been filled in KMDA areas during the tenure of the Trinamool Congress government. He also accused the previous administration of allowing environmental destruction and construction after ponds were filled.
Those allegations were made by Adhikari at the public event and were not independently substantiated in the supplied report. The report also did not identify the specific ponds, projects or enforcement cases included in the figure. The restoration announcement therefore provides confirmed details about two sites in Kudghat, while the broader claim remains a political allegation requiring separate documentary verification.
The proposed use of the restored sites combines water retention, public open space and local economic activity. Keeping the waterbodies in place can support the functioning of low-lying urban areas during heavy rainfall, while the planned green belt and walking paths would add publicly accessible space in a built-up neighbourhood. The source material, however, does not establish whether the sites have been integrated into a wider drainage, flood-management or land-use plan.
The announcement was part of a wider set of statements made by the chief minister on Monday. At an event in New Town, Adhikari reportedly set a deadline of May 8, 2027, for one lakh government appointments and announced that 11,000 state police appointment letters would be distributed at Netaji Indoor Stadium. The report also mentioned a planned investment inauguration of Rs 6,000 crore at Haldia Petrochemicals on the 14th, without providing further project details.
For Kudghat, the next steps identified in the announcement are the development of the green belt, construction of walking tracks, plantation work and the start of fish cultivation. The authorities have not, according to the supplied report, disclosed a detailed execution schedule or the mechanism for monitoring the restored waterbodies.
