One wonders what the plethora of public and private research organizations do if they cannot develop a standard reference book/manual on some basic facts about the country. An article published in one of the major Bangla newspapers of the country is indeed revealing. What it points out is that there is no standard or unambiguous answers to questions like 'Which is the longest river of the country?' In fact, similar questions can also be asked about the exact number of rivers in Bangladesh and one would find it hard to get a straightforward answer to it. The answers would vary from source to source. The
Wikipedia, for instance, referring to a publication of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) styled 'Rivers of Bangladesh' says that the number of rivers during the summer is 310. However, in another publication of this organization in 2011, it was stated that the number of rivers was 405. Still, controversies remain.
The National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) on its website published a list of the country's rivers in August 2023, claiming that the number of rivers was 907. And according to NRCC in that report, the 334-kilometre Ichamati was said to be the country's longest river. Notably, NRCC was declared as the guardian of all the rivers of the country in a High Court verdict in 2019. NRCC in its report further said that the meandering flow of the river made it the longest one. Ichamati is a transboundary river that originates in India and flows through 10 upazilas of Chuadanga, Jashore, Jhenidah and meets Raimangal river in the Satkhira district. Interestingly, there are nine other rivers across the country bearing the appellation 'Ichamati'. Some experts on river and water resource management, however, did not agree either with the number or the definition of a river.
Historical records, however, hold that there were 700 to 1300 rivers in the past, which included the big and small ones. In fact, many rivers have gone extinct. In recent times, once important rivers like the Buriganga and Dhaleswari have been dying due to uncontrolled pollution. In fact, there is no single answer to the question raised in the beginning of this write-up about the country's longest river. Also, there is no standard answer to the question: which is the widest or the swiftest river? Wikipidea says, of the three major rivers (Jamuna, Padma and Meghna), Jamuna, which is part of the Brahmaputra, is the longest one, while the Meghna is the widest and the Padma (eastern and main distributary of the Ganga) the swiftest. But the information on rivers or other natural and geographical objects of Bangladesh provided by the Wikipedia is subject to change as newer studies might come up with fresh facts and figures.
So, what should be our standard answers to some basic facts about Bangladesh? Since things are changing, should the reference books forever remain tentative? What would our children learn about these subjects in their primers? In that case, the government should form a constitutional body of experts who would conduct their studies as well as form network with various local and international research groups to provide the nation with standard information on the basic facts about the country. The panel might well develop an online as well as printed reference book like the Banglapedia. Why another reference book is necessary, when we have the Banglapedia? Unfortunately, the information provided by Banglapedia is often outdated as the Wikipedia itself termed the information provided by it (Banglapedia) about the number of rivers in the country outdated. It is expected that the publisher of this supposedly 'comprehensive national encyclopedia', will look into the matter.
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