As a massive blaze tore through a warehouse in Anandapur and killed over 25 people in the wee hours of the Republic Day (Januray 26, 2026), it exposed a deeper fault line in the system — how illegal and indiscriminate construction has eaten away at the ecologically sensitive zone in the fringes of east Kolkata.
Experts warn that such rapid encroachment of the wetlands, which are a natural filter for sewage water, can lead to long-term damage to the ecology of the city and its surroundings. Official records and court proceedings have on multiple occasions raised concerns over encroachment and unauthorised development in the protected wetland zone.
The East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority’s (EKWMA) Management Action Plan 2021–2026 stated that “Land use and land cover of the wetland to be maintained in line with regulatory requirements under Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 and East Kolkata Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Act, 2006. No illegal transformation of land use.”
The report also mentions a stark figure that according to studies, the wetlands save Kolkata city and its surroundings a whopping ₹4,680 million annually in water treatment costs.
The wetland treats over 900 million litres of sewage generated by Kolkata Municipal Corporation every day (approximately 65% of the total sewage generated in the metropolitan area). These wetlands which are situated right beside the capital city of West Bengal spans over a massive 12,500 hectares. Experts fear that this massive piece of land has become a lucrative business space for the land mafia.
Threat to natural resources
“This is part of our natural resources. The wetlands filters huge amounts of water on a daily basis. It is like recharging of the water. It also helps the production of almost half of our fishes and vegetables. If this space shrinks our ecosystem will also be destroyed,” Partha Pratim Biswas, professor of construction engineering at Jadavpur University, told The Hindu raising concerns about the encroachment of the wetlands and its transformation into real estate structures.
According to the EKWMA, “Over 260 shallow fish ponds in the EKW receive over 900 MLD pre-settled sewage from the Kolkata Metropolitan region through a network of locally excavated secondary and tertiary canals, which is used to produce annually 20,000 MT of fish, 50,000 MT of vegetables and irrigate 2,850 hectares of paddy lands.”
Professor Biswas added that as these wetlands lie right beside Kolkata, but most of it was officially part of the gram panchayat area and was not included in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area. The uproar over encroachment remains minimal even though it could rapidly impact the lives of the city-dwellers, he said.
There are only two Ramsar-listed ecosystem wetlands in West Bengal, one is the East Kolkata Wetlands, and the other the Sundarbans. The law said that the protection of these ecosystems was supposed to be implemented with strict vigilance under the State government authorities.
“These were empty lands very close to Kolkata. Setting up warehouses here does not cost much money, way less than in prime Kolkata locations. It is strategically placed under a gram panchayat, which makes law implementation slow and loose, making the construction and encroachment lucrative for all business owners,” Professor Biswas added.
Political blame game
As rescue operations continue in the gutted warehouse, political parties have shifted blame as senior leaders of the State did not take accountability for the tragedy.
“This has been here before 2006, before the Ramsar convention came into place. We did not stop it because closing down commercial spaces like this indiscriminately can stop the income of many poor people. I do not have any specific map right now to identify if this was officially part of the wetlands,” Firhad Hakim, Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor said while visiting the accident site on January 27. He claimed that currently, no other wetlands are being encroached, and if it happens, they are being razed down.
However, Opposition leaders begged to differ and said that most construction in these parts are illegal.
Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that “This is not an accident, it is a man-made disaster caused by illegal warehouses operating without fire safety norms, NOCs, or audits in the East Kolkata Wetlands. The Trinamool Congress government’s chronic apathy, corruption, and failure to enforce basic regulations have caused this.”
Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders like Sujan Chakraborty made similar claims. “In 2011, these wetlands were empty; now it is filled with buildings. This was illegal, of course, they did not have any fire license,” Mr. Chakraborty said. He claimed that these illegal constructions have happened under the current Trinamool government.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders have asked for a Supreme Court monitored investigation into the fire accident. They also raised questions about why the CEO of Wow! Momo has not been arrested till now.
The warehouse had two godowns, one of Wow! Momo, and the other of a decorator. Two top executives of the fast food chain were arrested on Friday. Earlier, the owner of the other company was also arrested.
