Ropar, March 30: A 500-ft-long and 8-ft-wide sand ‘bundh’ — built by the Drainage Department three decades ago to protect several villages from floods — was removed by unidentified persons on the intervening night of March 26 and 27.
The land under the ‘bundh’ at Bahrampur Zamindara was levelled in a single night apparently with the use of heavy earth-moving machinery. But nobody got a whiff of the incident till Tuesday morning when the residents found a plane in place of the ‘bundh’.
There is also no clue about the 200 trees planted on the ‘bundh’ by the Forest Department in 2013.The residents said that the ‘bundh’ had been in existence before Partition. It was damaged during the 1988 floods, following which the Drainage Department had restored it.Though nobody spotted anyone dismantling the ‘bundh’, the residents suspect influential persons having land near the spot.
The hand of another influential person related to a retired senior police official is also suspected. They alleged that it was an attempt to usurp the land.
Sub-divisional officer of the Drainage Department Pratham Gambhir and Forest Range Officer Randhir Singh Chakkal said that a complaint has been filed with the local police. SHO Sukhbir Singh said that a case has been registered against unidentified persons.
Source Tribune India
