Hooghly, 11 August (H.S.): The picture of the industrial area spread from Uttarpara to Mogra in Hooghly district has now completely changed. This district was once known as the industrial heartland of West Bengal. The machines of the factories are closed, multi-storey buildings have now stood in place of smoke-emitting chimneys, and behind this change is the nexus of land mafia and political protection.
If we look at the background of the past decades, between 1960 and 80, the factories spread in Uttarpara, Konnagar, Dankuni, Rishra, Serampore and Baidyabati along the Delhi Road were the main source of employment for thousands of workers. But between 1990 and 2005, global competition, management disputes and continuous labour movements weakened these industries and many units were closed one after the other. After this, from 2005 onwards, the mafia set its eyes on the vacant industrial land and started changing the character of these lands secretly.
The method of occupation was also well planned. First of all, machines and construction material were made to disappear from the closed factories overnight. After this, the factory walls were broken to make inroads and the category of the land was changed with the connivance of the land rights department. As soon as the zoning was changed, the construction of a multi-storey building would start immediately and then the sale of flats would start rapidly.
The role of some notorious faces has been coming to the fore in this entire game. Initially, gangster Bholanath Das alias 'Bagha' was dominant, but later Shyamal Das alias 'Hubba' used his political influence to overtake Bagha and established his control over the entire Hooghly industrial area. Hubba earned a lot of money from illegal liquor, gambling and betting business and strengthened his gang. To maintain his dominance, he often resorted to crimes like murder. His network expanded further due to political patronage. However, Hubba was murdered in 2011 in a land dispute. The names of Ramesh Mahato and Nepu Giri came up in this murder case and both were arrested. After being released from jail, Ramesh Mahato further expanded his network through construction material supply and property funding.
There is a clear timeline of events in the last 20 years. Between 2006 and 2010, there was a sudden increase in illegal occupation of the lands of closed factories. After Hubba's murder in 2011, a new phase of illegal construction started under the leadership of Ramesh Mahato. Between 2013 and 2019, the occupation intensified due to political patronage and between 2020 and 2025, multi-storey buildings have been built on a large number of industrial plots along the Delhi Road.
According to estimates, more than 50 factories are currently closed in Hooghly, more than 40 percent of industrial plots have been illegally converted and more than 200 criminal cases related to land disputes have been registered in the last 15 years. About 60 percent of these cases are considered politically sensitive.
A senior police officer says that despite technical and legal strictness, it is very difficult to completely stop the mafia syndicate due to political maneuvering and connivance of officials. Local people are apprehending that if the current situation does not change, this area of Hooghly will completely turn into a jungle of illegal construction.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey