‘City of ponds’: residents of Bihar’s Darbhanga town wade into legal battle to save water bodies
Residents of Darbhanga, Bihar, have petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the 'beautification' of historical ponds, which they argue is destroying the town's natural water management system. The court has ordered the state government to halt soil dumping while the legal battle continues.
Why it matters
This case highlights the tension between urban development projects and the preservation of essential ecological infrastructure in rapidly growing regions.
Darbhanga in Bihar’s Mithilanchal region, about 160 km north of State capital Patna, had over 350 ponds till 1969 as per the district gazetteer and was known as the ‘city of ponds’. Today less than 100 remain and the town is grappling with depleting groundwater, leaving residents struggling to draw water from hand pumps in summer.
The remaining ponds are allegedly being filled up daily and built over by encroachers to construct houses, hotels, hospitals and coaching institutes, according to members of Talab Bachao Abhiyan (TBA), a citizen group. They add that the State government’s “rejuvenation and beautification” plan for historical ponds is deepening the water crisis.
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