Kaliganga, one of the oldest rivers in Kushtia, is now named as Dead Kaliganga. Many elderly people, many who works with the environment told that this river was not a dead river at all. It was an ages of waving river. The river has been shaped into a dead river by killing it with various ways.

The Kaliganga River is a tributary of the Gorai. Gorai originated from Padma; the Padma got origination from Ganga.

The river Kaliganga originated about 450 years ago from Cheuria in Kushtia, just 8 kilometer downstream from the source of the Gorai River. Its length is about 28 kilometer from the place of origin. At the end of limit, it merged into the Kumar river at  Kancherkol of Shailkupa upazila of Jhenaidah district.

In its long tail, Kaliganga has given birth to many civilizations and cultures in its basin areas. Contributed to the livelihood and economy of the people living in the basin. Boats, barges and steamers used to sail on this river. It is sense that people of the basin may have heard the songs of the boatmen or heard the roar of the steamer in the middle of the night. But in course of time, this river is now dead.

River experts told that the river has been killed in various processes throughout the one and half hundred years.

Sources said that the first blow to the river came when the British ruler initiated to lay the first railway in the land of Bangladesh part of undivided India. The first railway station was set up at Jagotee in Kushtia in 1861. Later, while extending the railway line from Jagotee of Kushtia to Goalanda of Rajbari, the work came to a halt at Cheuria in 1870.

Although the railway was expanded by constructing a railway bridge on the Gorai river, 4 kilometer east of Kaliganga river, the railway line was laid on it by filling the river chest and the estuary of the river was blocked constructing a sluice gate. This whole happened just 1 kilometer downstream of the river.

The second assassination took place in 1958 during the rule of Pakistan. The water supply canal of Ganges-Kobadak Irrigation Project (GK) was constructed over the river at a distance of 3 and a half km from where the railway line was installed.

The third phase of killing took place in 1968. This time Kushtia-Rajbari regional highway was built over the river at Cheuria, just beside of the railway line.

Reign of occupation/

This river which has been empty for so many years has been evicted in many ways. Sometimes people on the banks of the river, sometimes the government and non-government organisations have and are on the spree of occupying the banks, the chest of the river and side by side.

The akhra of Baul King Fakir Lalon Shah is located at a walking distance of Kaliganga. A large part of the river has been filled with soil in the name of commercial expansion of the Akhra. An Awami League leader has set up an oxygen refill factory nearby the Akhra. Thus, a wholesale of occupation is going on along the entire length of 28 km of the river.

Gautam Kumar Roy of Kushtia works on river and nature says in the last one and a half hundred years, the width of this river, which is about 100 meters, has been filled to 70 meters.

He said the whole river has been divided among the influential people of different areas. Houses, markets, etc. are being built every day by filling both sides of the river. Somewhere fish is being farmed by setting dams. Somewhere the river bed is being cultivated.

A platform of about 40 different social organizations in Kushtia, is already working on the river. Writer and author also chairman of the alliance Dr. Amanur Aman said they have undertaken several programmes. They want the chest of the river to be exposed.

Three dams should be removed and bridges should be built there. Let the estuary of the river be opened, he said.

A leader of Kushtia town unit Awami League established water refill factory on the bank of the river.

It is alleged that he has done it grabbing a portion of the river.

This correspondent tried to contact him several times through his mobile phone. But he did not receive phone call. This correspondent sent SMS but he did not respond anymore.

Lalon Academy, to look after the Baul King Lalon Shah has grabbed a large portion of the river and developed field to arrange Lalon mela every year.

Lalon Academy’s former elected general secretary Taijal Ali Khan told that to file up a portion of Kaliganag river bed was decision of the then (1998)  government. Taijal was general secretary when Lalon Academy’s extension work done.

“As the river was blocked from its estuary since more previous time, so it was just a continuity,” he said adding that “The then government took the decision.”

Kushtia Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Saidul Islam said any type encroachment on river is illegal.

“The district administration (DC) always is alter about the matter. I have heard of drive by the administration in time to time to protect the river from the grabbers,” DC said.