A vast waterbody in Baruipur is being filled up illegally by a group of youths, allegedly backed by a section of the local CPM leadership.

Residents fear that if the youths have their way, the entire locality may be flooded the next time it receives a smart shower for a few hours.

Repeated appeals to various authorities, including the chief minister and the fisheries minister, have resulted in the work being stopped. But the residents suspect that the respite is temporary.

They even alleged that the local police were colluding with the ?CPM-backed youths? in filling up the waterbody.

Measuring around 17 cottah, the waterbody functions as a safety valve for the whole of Baruipur, home to more than five lakh people.

Water and sewerage that accumulate in the pond are drained out into the Bidyadhari river (in Canning, South 24-Parganas), via the Begumpur canal and the Uttarbhag pumping station.

?Some local youths, led by Enamul Rahaman, started filling up the pond on December 1. Floodlights were installed so work could proceed unhindered even at night,? alleged Palan Sardar, a local resident. Rahaman, Sardar said, had engaged more than 100 labourers.

Local MLA Arup Bhadra (Trinamul Congress) wanted immediate government intervention as Baruipur was to be the district headquarters of South 24-Parganas. Local MP Sujon Chakraborty (CPM) asserted that no one would be allowed to fill up the waterbody.

Baruipur sub-divisional officer Sarmistha Das was equally emphatic: ?No one will be spared if found guilty of filling up a waterbody illegally,? she told Metro.