Do you know that the Shing Mun River (城門河, literally means “City Gate River”) of Shatin District was once an important source of irrigation
water for the local farmers who lived along it?
The original Shing Mun Rver started at Needle Hill and flowed into
Tide Cove. In 1970s, the cove was reclaimed and developed as the Shatin New
Town we have nowadays. Shing Mun River thus was turned into a 7 km long and 200
m wide artificial channel connecting Tolo Harbor.
And of course the area around the river is no longer farmlands. It
is now packed with residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The river
itself is a landmark of Shatin district and the landmark of landmarks as well
since you can find lots of popular recreational facilities / tourist spots
along it, like Shatin Sports Ground, Shatin Park, Shatin Racecourse and Star
Seafood Floating Restaurant. Seeing how the river is close to these facilities
and the potential it has, the government plans to develop it into a
water-related tourist attraction.
It’s also a popular place for water sports. You can see people
practicing canoeing or kayaking here from time to time. Dragon boat races would
usually be held here as well, so this place would provide a magnificent sight
during Tuen Ng Festival.
Hard to imagine the river is heavily polluted 30 years ago, isn’t
it? But it WAS seriously polluted because of the domestic, agricultural and
industrial wastes discharged from the nearby. The result was a stinking and
lifeless river. After a decade of hard work, the water quality has finally
improved in 1990s, where fish and invertebrates could
live inside the river.
However, in 2015 Decemeber, Fo Tan Nullah, which flows into Shing
Mun River, turned into blue and in 2016 February, thousands of fish in Shing
Mun River were found dead. This raised concern of the environmentalists and
after a lab test, it was revealed that the bacteria, acidity and solid waste
level of the river all exceeded the standard allowed. In the end, real estate
company Link was found out responsible for and it and fined (for a mere amount
of HK$15,000).
With this in mind, turning the river into a tourist attraction doesn’t
sound like good idea…
I doubt the tourists will find a rainbow-color river filled with
dead fish appealing…
Maybe people should at least learn how to respect the nature before they take advantage of it?
沒有留言:
張貼留言