There was a time when a river was full of water. There were different types of fish in that water which many fishermen used to earn their living. Children and old people used to bathe in that water. The women of the village used to carry pitchers of water and used that water to do various household tasks including cooking. The water of that river was clear which was suitable for drinking. But the current context is different. At present the river is almost dead.
Its water color is black and cloudy. Again, there are different colors in some parts and the reason for the different colors is the waste thrown by mills and factories. Nose and mouth have to be kept closed while walking along the river or crossing the river due to the stench of the river water and dirt. In many parts of the river, there is no water, only piles of garbage. In this blog we will talking about The Old Brahmaputra River which flows through Narsingdi District.
Why The Old Brahmaputra is called “নদ” instead of “নদী” in Bengali?
The Old Brahmaputra is called “Nod” instead of “Nodi” in the history of the Brahmaputra is a little different from any other rivers. In our language, branchless rivers are called “Nod”. Though the Brahmaputra has many branches, it is called a “Nod”. Brahmaputra is a Sanskrit word and Brahmaputra means son of Brahma. The former name of Brahmaputra was Lohitya. As a result of the earthquake of 1887, the Brahmaputra lost its speed and gave birth to the river Jamuna. Another branch of the Brahmaputra is the Old Brahmaputra which originates from the Jamalpur region on the eastern bank of the Brahmaputra and joins the Meghna at Bhairab in Kishoreganj. (বাংলাদেশের নদীকোষ, গতিধারা, 2011, P:399.)
A Belief about the Origin of Brahmaputra
There is a story in Kalika Purana about the origin of Brahmaputra. There is a tank called Brahmakund at the top of Misumi. It is the holiest pilgrimage of Hindus. It is in this Brahmakunda that Parasurama is saved from sin, that is, it is here that the ax falls from his hand. As a result, its water travels from country to country. Thus, the river Brahmaputra originates.
The Present Condition of the River
At present the condition of most of the rivers in this country is very deplorable. Some rivers have disappeared and some have reached extreme levels of pollution. The condition of our Old Brahmaputra is no exception. The old Brahmaputra is on the verge of losing today due to the excesses of human exploitation. Due to the solid wastes of the industries, the water of the river has turned black and the flow of water has stopped due to the accumulation of piles of dirt in different places. Besides, the water has become so poisonous that there are no fish left in it and even no animals. People in the surrounding areas are living at serious health risks due to the stench of water.
Which caused this bad situation?
- Discarded Garbage of The Locality: Narsingdi is one of the most populous districts and cities in Bangladesh. The Brahmaputra River flows through the cities of this district. As a result, almost all the garbage of the cities is dumped in this river. Moreover, garbage which is removed from the suburbs of the city is dumped in this river. The people of the cities of Narsingdi use this river as a place for dumping garbage.
- Drainage System and Unsanitary Latrines: There is drainage system in Narsingdi and all the garbage of the drains are discarded in this river. As a result, the water of the river is seriously polluted. And the unsanitary latrines built by the sides of the river are also polluting the river..
- Lack of Natural Flow: The natural flow of this river is stuck in different places. Due to the huge piles of garbage and the lack of water, the normal flow of river does not exist in this river. As a result, garbage and polluted water cannot be removed by streams.
- Industrialization and Urbanization: Narsingdi district is famous for textile industry. Many largest industrial factories of our country are located in this region. The present condition of industrialization in this region is very high. Every year innumerable industrial factories are growing here. All these factories wastes are dumped into the Old Brahmaputra River.
- Illegal Occupation: There is huge number of illegal occupants of this river. They have made houses, markets, factories on this river.
- Lack Of Awareness and Proper Attempts: Native people, government and authority are not aware of the miserable condition of the river. No proper attempts have been taken to recover and refine the whole river yet. As a result the condition of this river is becoming worse day by day.
To read more blogs #click here.
Writer
Naeem Hasan
Intern, Content Writing Department,
YSSE