Rivers of Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a land of rivers. The health, wealth and happiness of Bangladesh depend [নির্ভর] on her rivers. There are many big and small rivers. The Padma, the Meghna, the Jamuna are the big and wide rivers.

The Buriganga, the Sitalakshya, the Dhaleswari, the Teesta, the Madhumati, the Gumati and the Karnafuli are small rivers. Most of the rivers of our country come from the Himalayas and fall into the Bay of Bengal.

The rivers are the source of our wealth. Bangladesh is an agricultural country. The prosperity [সমৃদ্ধি] of agriculture depends on the rivers. These rivers have made the soil fertile [উর্বর]. So rice, jute, tea and other crops grow in plenty here.

Our rivers abound with fish. Fish is an important wealth. Our fishermen catch a huge quantity of fish and export to foreign countries. Thus they earn a lot of foreign exchange. Fish is our main item of food.

The rivers of our country are the main ways of communication. Boats, launches and steamers move on these rivers in all seasons. Men and goods are carried from one town to another; from one part to another. All these are possible only for river communication.

Most of the cities, towns, industries, hats, bazaars, trade-centres are on the bank of rivers. The products of mills, factories and industries are easily carried to different places through rivers. Raw materials from far and near can be carried easily to our industries. Thus our rivers help in commerce, trade and industry.

Some of our rivers are the source of energy. This energy helps our industries. Some of the rivers are used to produce electricity. Goalpara and Karnafuli hydro-electric projects are used to solve electricity problem.

The rivers have a great influence [প্রভাব] on the people of our country. We love the rivers, its water and music. The rivers have made us emotional and sentimental. Much of our joys and happiness depend on rivers. The rivers have influenced many of our writers and poets. Many rivers have found expressions in the writings of Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Michael Madhusudan and Jasim Uddin.

Some of the Bengali novels have been named after our rivers: Padma Nadir Manjhi and Padma Promatha. Our artists and painters like Jainul Abedin have been much influenced by our rivers. Shari, Bhatiali and Murshidi are the expressions of our village people’s love for rivers.

Sometimes, the rivers cause great damage to our life and property. In the rainy season the rivers overflow their banks and cause flood. People suffer untold sufferings.

In spite of the little harm, the rivers are useful to us in many ways. They are the source of our wealth, health and happiness.