Land grabbing at Kuakata

Illegally constructed structures have once again started to spring up on the Kuakata beach, defying a High Court directive issued in 2011 and this time it is being done by just one man. Abdul Kuddus has reportedly built 18 sea-facing stores and "leased" them out to several businesses for a hefty fee. The problem, of course, is that the land on which these shops were erected belongs to the republic, not any individual. The local civil servants have vowed to remove these structures immediately but the question remains as to how it was possible for someone to build them under the very nose of the administration in the first place. Were they built overnight without anybody watching?  

Grabbing of land belonging to the state or the socially weak has become a scourge across the country. Parks, pavements, playgrounds and even parts of streets are occupied on a whim by powerful quarters. But setting up stores on a sea beach takes the matter to a whole new level.  Does anyone care about how much they will affect the panoramic view of the beach? Will any tourist want to go to a beach only to be greeted by a bleak sprawl of shoddily constructed low-lying structures? 

Authorities should waste no time in removing the unlawful shanties on the beach of Kuakata. And Abdul Kuddus, no matter how powerful or well connected, must be held accountable for his misdeed.