Manikganj rivers dying

Part of Kaliganga river is photographed in Ghior upazila area of Manikganj district. Photo: Abdul Momin
Part of Kaliganga river is photographed in Ghior upazila area of Manikganj district. Photo: Abdul Momin

All the rivers in Manikganj are now on the brink of extinction, thanks to unabated encroachment, pollution, constructions of unplanned embankments, bridges and roads, and lack of dredging.

Once, the district was criss-crossed by nine distributary channels of rivers -- the Dhaleshwari, the Ichhamati, the Kaliganga, the Kantabati, the Manlakhani, the Gazikhali, the Kkhirai, the Manda and the Bhubaneswar.

But now, only four of them are alive but threatened by man-made menace, affecting the environment and economy of the district.

According to several environmental organisations the Kantabati, the Manlakhin, the Kkhirai, the Manda and the Bhubaneswar have are already dead while Dhaleshwari, the Ichhamati, Kaliganga and Gazikhali are going through the pangs of death.

Besides, two large rivers of the country - Padma and Jamuna - have been flowing through the district.

But, the environmentalists said both Padma and Jamuna are facing scarcity of water and this leads to development of a number of islands in the rivers.

In separate visits to the area on Monday and Wednesday, the Prothom Alo reporter found that the Dhaleshwari river was waterless between the area of Sadar upazila and Meghshimul area of the district.

Another river Kaliganga was seen dried out between Uttar Tara area and Joynagar area of the district.

The local people were found cultivating paddy in the riverbeds.