As the important Kulick river becomes shallow by the year and its banks encroached upon by people and made garbage dumping grounds, North Dinajpur District Magistrate, Aiyesha Rani, on Wednesday held a meeting with officials of the district administration and Raiganj municipality, and social workers, and discussed ways to save the river in Raiganj.

Administrative officials in large numbers, including the Sahakari Sabhadhipati of the North Dinajpur Zilla Parishad, Purnendu Dey, Divisional Forest Officer of Raiganj Social Forestry Division Dwiparnan Dutta, Raiganj SDO TN Sherpa, officials of the Irrigation department, the District Land and Land Reforms Officer, and BDOs of both Raiganj and Hemtabad, attended the meeting, it is learnt.

Kulick River, which originates from the Kahaloi River in Bangladesh, crosses a total of 14 gram panchayats and merges with the Mahanada river at Gorahar in Raiganj. “Kulick River has lost its depth extensively. The banks in most of the areas are encroached by locals and they have turned into agricultural fields.

As a result, chemical fertilizers and pesticides mix with the river water. On the other hand, in some areas, the river bed has turned dumping grounds where hazardous wastes are piling up. Meanwhile, thousands of shallow water pumps in the town and nearby areas near the banks have sucked the river water, resulting in the reduction in the water level in the river. If the situation persists, the river will soon dry up,” sources said.

“We have decided to excavate ponds in Hemtabad and Raiganj blocks, which are situated on the banks of the Kulick. We have instructed authorities of the Raiganj municipality to hang a public notice at different places with messages to save Kulick River by not polluting it.

In the meantime, we have already distributed leaflets in the rural belts to make people aware of the issue. We have also sought the help of the forest department to plant trees on the banks of the river. Immediate measures would be taken up to free the river bed of encroachments.

Excavation of farm ponds close to the river has also been planned. We have already prepared a comprehensive plan to save the river from pollution. We have also published a logo with a view to saving the river,” the DM, Ms Rani, said.