Balurghat: Int’l Day of Action for Rivers observed

BALURGHAT: International Day of Action of Rivers was observed here on Tuesday by a local Environmental organisation to mark the day.

The members of the organisation visited several ghats of Atreyee including Kalikapur ghat, Madhubagan ghat, Tin Hat ghat, Chalkbhabani Crematorium ghat, Malopara ghat, Matrisadan ghat and Atreyee Sadar ghat of Balurghat.

Tuhin Subhra Mandal, Bijon Krishna Sarkar, Kinkar Das and Tridib Sarkar identified various problems of Atreyee including sand mining, water scarcity, river bank erosion, pollution and shifting of river course.

Secretary of the organisation Tuhin Subhra Mandal said: “Atreyee is becoming prone to erosion and there is a hole in the river bed due to sand extraction at Matrisadan Ghat. Atreyee Sadar Ghat was cleaned a few days ago but the picture of pollution is still clear. There are instances of mixing of liquid waste in the water by the city’s river-facing sewers from Kalikapur ghat to Atreyee Sadar ghat.” According to him, garbage is being deposited on the banks of the river on a large scale at Kalikapur ghat and Madhubagan ghat. “The left bank of the river before the Chalkbhabani crematorium has become a field while the amount of fodder is increasing in the river bed. Despite the check dam construction area near Chalkbhabani Crematorium ghat has been made to channel the river water through a small area. We fear that damming the river in this way will cause damage to the river,” he said.