Residents of this West Bengal village have been fighting for over a decade to protect their waterbody

In the first week of January 2025, a group of residents from Bhabadighi village attended a convention in Chinsurah, the district headquarters of Hooghly, to advocate for the protection of a 17.48-acre natural waterbody in their village, named after it. For a decade, they have been protesting against the construction of a railway line that would cut through the Bhabadighi. 

This railway line is part of the Tarakeswar-Bishnupur Rail Project. Local residents have raised concerns about the construction of the railway line over the waterbody, which is integral to the livelihood of approximately 150 families.

The dighi (a Bengali term for a very large pond) is a vital source of sustenance for the village and a core component of the local ecosystem. Locally, it is believed that Sri Chaitanya Deb and Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa once drank water from this waterbody.

While the administration and mainstream media portray the village residents as anti-development, they are not opposed to the construction of the much-needed railway line. Rather, they believe that the route could have been planned to bypass the waterbody. However, they perceive the sudden change in the route as indicative of corruption and favouritism.

The ownership of the dighi, recorded under Dag (plot) No. 402, is registered in the names of approximately 200 village residents. However, it is regarded as community property and shared collectively. Its upkeep and maintenance are also borne collectively by these families, 96 per cent of whom belong to the Scheduled Caste category.

Bhabadighi village is located in Goghat I Block, Arambagh subdivision of Hooghly district, West Bengal, India. It lies 3.6 kilometres from the sub-district headquarters in Goghat (Tehsildar office) and 84 km from the district headquarters in Chinsurah. As per 2009 records, Goghat serves as the gram panchayat for Bhabadighi.

The village spans 115.37 hectares and comprises approximately 198 houses, with a total population of 887 (479 male, 408 female, according to the 2011 Census). Its literacy rate stands at 69.79 per cent (77.45 per cent for males and 60.78 per cent for females).

Sanctioned in 1999-2000, the Tarakeswar-Bishnupur project saw little progress for the next decade. After Mamata Banerjee became Union Minister of Railways in 2009, construction accelerated. Eastern Railway first shared details of the project in 2003. 

The proposed fully electrified line was divided into three sections:

• The 25.6 km stretch from Tarakeswar to Arambagh

• The 19.6 km stretch within Arambagh

• The final 56.8 km stretch to Bishnupur

At the time of inaugurating the line, the Railway Minister proposed naming Arambagh railway station after former West Bengal Chief Minister Prafulla Chandra Sen and Maynapur railway station after Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Train services between Tarakeswar and Talpur were inaugurated on April 25, 2010, followed by the Talpur to Arambagh section on June 4, 2012, albeit without electrification and automatic signalling.

Due to the lack of overhead electrification, the railways initially ran diesel-electric multiple unit trains. Mukul Roy, the next Railway Minister, inaugurated the electrified line to Tarakeswar on September 16, 2012, after which electric multiple unit (EMU) services were introduced. The completion of the Bishnupur to Gokulnagar section was announced in the 2009-10 railway budget. 

By June 2016, the Tarakeswar to Goghat section was commissioned for EMU trains, with three pairs of Howrah-Goghat locals introduced. In March 2024, construction work between Maynapur and Kamarpukur began.

Initially, the village residents of Bhabadighi were pleased with the railway project’s progress. However, upon learning that the final stretch of the railway line would pass over their dighi, they launched their protest.

The village residents of Bhabadighi have issued leaflets explaining their opposition to the railway project. These leaflets read: “As this dighi is an integral part of our existence, for us to exist, this dighi must exist with us. Please do not dismiss this as a conspiratorial movement — it is a movement for our right to live.”

They further state: “Yes, we are opposing the railway track for our own selfish gains, but if you claim that the railway track is in the ‘larger interest’, we ask — what can be larger than life itself? Bhabadighi is our life.”

The village residents claim they have repeatedly tried to communicate their concerns to the administration. “They thought they could appease us by granting us benefits from welfare schemes — benefits that we are naturally entitled to, such as ration cards, birth certificates and toilets. But these are our rights as citizens. Proposing to fill up this dighi and replace it with two artificial ponds is another deception by the government. It is utterly unrealistic,” they said.

Historical importance of railway project

The broad-gauge Sheoraphuli-Tarakeswar branch line was opened by the Tarkessur Railway Company on January 1, 1885 and later taken over by the East Indian Railway Company in 1915. The Howrah-Bardhaman Chord line, which intersects this branch line at Kamarkundu, was inaugurated in 1917.

Sanctioned in 2001, the Bishnupur-Tarakeswar New Line project spans 87 km and is intended to serve as a crucial link not only for pilgrims but also as an alternative route for goods transport between South Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway. However, land acquisition disputes significantly delayed the project. To expedite its completion, Eastern Railway revised its strategy into multiple phases.

As per Eastern Railway’s reports, over 80 per cent of earthwork and bridge construction has been completed between Maynapur and Bara Gopinathpur (7.7 km), while construction of the Bara Gopinathpur station is in full swing. Similarly, in the second phase (Bara Gopinathpur to Jayrambati, 7.1 km), 70 per cent of earthwork and bridges are completed, with the Jayrambati station under construction. The third phase (Jayrambati to Kamarpukur, approximately 5 km) was stalled due to land acquisition issues, but after resolving disputes and providing additional compensation, the required land was handed over to Railway authorities on March 8, 2024.

However, the fourth phase (Kamarpukur to Goghat, 5.5 km) faces hurdles in land acquisition at Bhabadighi, despite major works in the section being completed.

About 150 families rely on this waterbody for pisciculture and daily activities. It provides fishing and irrigation to local people who are financially dependent on it. Most village residents are land labourers, while some own small agricultural plots. Leasing out the dighi for pisciculture provides them with both income and food.

The banks of the dighi were once lined with century-old Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) and Peepal (Ficus religiosa) trees, which were destroyed in the past decade and replaced with eucalyptus, an ecologically damaging species. Additionally, seasonal shrubs and small plants thrive in the area.

This waterbody, the surrounding land, the village, its people, their cattle and the local flora and fauna form an interconnected ecosystem that demands protection.

Human rights group Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) has filed a public interest litigation in the Calcutta High Court, demanding a rerouting of the railway line to save Bhabadighi. Several other non-profit organisations have also extended their support to the village residents.

Following multiple follow-ups, SK Yadav, deputy chief engineer (Con-VI), Eastern Railway, Howrah, responded in a letter to the Secretary of APDR Hooghly on 17 May 2017. He stated, “Some people are misleading others by claiming that filling in this small portion of the pond will harm the environment. However, railway construction often leads to an increase in water bodies, as the large volume of earth required for embankments results in the creation or expansion of such waterbodies.”

The village residents have steadfastly opposed the railway track passing through Bhabadighi for nearly a decade, refusing to allow the waterbody to be filled or built over. While they support the railway’s swift construction as a vital development, they seek a resolution that preserves Bhabadighi, ensuring both improved transport and local economic growth.

At the January 2025 convention in Chinsurah, protest leader Sukumar Ray posed a crucial question. “At a time when research and innovation focus on environmental conservation, should it not be imperative for the Railways, the State and local authorities to find a viable alternative that safeguards this waterbody—on which an entire community depends? Or are they merely using these village residents as pawns for their own political gains,” he asked.

Pratik Ghosal is retired engineer and an environmental activist

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth