P Mishra
Giridih : Over 80 of ponds and wells in water starved town of Giridih have disappeared in the last few decades as the land mafia have encroached them. According to the information procured from the government agencies concerned, several such ponds and wells across the Girih township have either been encroached or filled up by the land mafia.
According to the information procured from the Giridih municipal council, more than a 100 wells and 12 to 15 of the 106 wells and almost 19 ponds, which were constructed in different parts of municipal areas over the past few decades, have disappeared.
“We do not have confirmed information regarding number of ponds and wells constructed by the municipal council over the past few decades. But recently, it came into our notice that a large chunk of such resources were found traceless by the authorities concerned,” said the Giridih deputy Commissioner, Umashankar Singh, adding that he had sought detail report from the municipal officials concerned in this regard.
“This is true that more than 80% ponds and wells of the municipal councils have either been illegally grabbed by the land mafia or these resources disappeared due to other reasons. As per our reports, dozens of municipal wells were constructed in Pachamba, Makatpur, Kalibari chowk, court roads and other places. As per the process, we have informed the district authorities concerned in this regard. Now, it is up to the executive authorities how do they tackle the issues,” said the municipal council chairperson, Dinesh Yadav.
Asked about the main reason behind the ignorance of such vital issues, a municipal official said, “We are actually scared of the consequences as several influential people are among those who have committed such crime.”