Description
Keraniganj was born as a 'Char Area" of the Buriganga and Dhaleshwari rivers, which flow from the north-east and south-west sides of this upazila. This is the reason why Keraniganj is a low-lying marshy land that is crisscrossed by numerous rivers, canals, ponds and ditches.
Recently, waterbodies like rivers and canals in Keraniganj upazila have been on the verge of extinction due to illegal landfilling for the construction of buildings and roads. The two rivers, Shing and Old Buriganga Channel, located inside Keraniganj upazila, are now dried up at many locations and have lost their form. This is because the mouths of these rivers have been illegally filled with land by land developers and encroachers. This has stopped the supply of water in these rivers, which is why they are now dying. If this kind of landfilling is not stopped, the rivers will end up being narrow canals or drains and may go extinct someday.
Shing River was once connected to the "Old Buriganga Channel," which eventually led to the Buriganga River in the north and in the south, it was once connected to the Shuvaddhya Canal which eventually led to the Dhaleshwari River. The Shing River had connections to many other waterbodies along its way. However, with time, this 19-kilometer-long canal has become disconnected at many locations and the most discerning matter is that Shing has lost its connection to both the Old Buriganga Channel and the Shuvaddhya Canal because of the illegal encroachment. However, the Shing River also passes through mainly open spaces and some low-density residential areas. This river lacks depth and the existing water condition is found to be polluted due to debris and sewage.
Several attempts were made in the past to recover the Shing River but the recurrence of land grabbers and encroachers failed to save the river. This project involves connecting Shing River with Dhaleshwari and Shuvaddhya to help Shing River find its lost connection to the source of water, ensure uninterrupted navigation through it, provide a permanent solution to stop illegal encroachment on riverside public property and let people enjoy the natural beauty of this river once again.
