A rampant spree of pond excavation is taking place on agricultural land in the Rajshahi region. To halt these activities, three voluntary organizations in Rajshahi have put forward five demands urging the administration to take swift action.

The demands include iImmediate and visible effective measures must be taken to stop pond excavation on agricultural land, and identified land grabbers must be arrested and exemplary punishment ensured ; police officers, Assistant Commissioners (Land), and UNOs  complicit in land grabbing must be removed and punished ; 
the extent of damage caused to farmers due to forced pond excavation must be assessed, and compensation must be ensured in the shortest possible time : a thorough investigation of the entire incident must be conducted, and exemplary punishment for the guilty must be ensured and the ongoing spree of pond excavation on agricultural land in various upazilas of Rajshahi must be stopped immediately.

These demands were raised at a press conference held at an elite book café in Rajshahi city’s Ganakpara on Saturday morning.  The press conference was organized by the voluntary organizations Rashtra Sangskar Krishak Andolan, Barendra Youth Forum, and Sabuj Sanghati Rajshahi Metropolitan.

The written statement at the press conference was read by Md. Amjad Hossain, convener of Rashtra Sangskar Krishak Andolan, Bagmara, and a lecturer at Mohonpur College. The question-and-answer session with journalists included Mahbub Siddiquee, a river and environment researcher; Advocate Hossain Ali Piara; Md. Atikur Rahman Atik, joint general secretary of Barendra Youth Forum; Mahmud Jamal Kaderi, convener of July-36 Parishad; and Ishita Yasmin, among others.

At the press conference, they stated that forceful and illegal pond excavation is ongoing not only in various upazilas of Rajshahi but also in the agricultural land of Nimai Beel in Bagmara upazila. For the past four to five months, efforts have been made to bring this issue to the administration’s attention through human chains and submission of memoranda. Despite these efforts, no remedy was provided, leading to a case being filed on March 19 at the “Honest Rajshahi Senior Judicial Magistrate, Bagmara Court” (Case No: C.R. Case No. 347/2025, Bagmara). The investigation of the case has been assigned to the Assistant Commissioner (Land) of Bagmara upazila.  A writ petition was filed in the High Court Division, which issued a stay order on pond excavation in Bagmara upazila and directed the Rajshahi District Administration, UNO, and AC (Land) to take effective measures on 8th April .

Defying the country’s laws and the High Court’s writ petition, the accused have resumed excavation on approximately 60 bighas of agricultural land in Nimai Beel during the Eid-ul-Adha holidays, using terrorist tactics. Some local political leaders and land grabbers are involved in this activity. 

 

They continue excavation work from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. using seven excavator machines, despite the fact that excavating ponds on agricultural land is prohibited under the country’s laws. Although the Bagmara police station, upazila administration, and district administration have been informed multiple times, they have taken no action and have instead played the role of silent spectators. Due to illegal excavation, farmers’ crops have been destroyed, and the land has become unfit for cultivation, pushing farmers into an uncertain future.