There are many rivers with the same name in our country, and one river also has many names. As far as is known, the Ichamati river has the largest number of rivers. There are a total of 14 names in the official list. Apart from this, 4 more names have been found. River researcher Mahbub Siddiqui said that there are 18 distinct rivers named Ichamati.
A few years ago, Mahbub Siddiqui told me that there are a total of 12 Ichamati rivers in the country. Then, after learning from me, he added the name of the Ichamati that flows past Mahiganj, Adi Rangpur. Then there were 13. A few days later, he told me that Montgomery Martin wrote about the Ichamati River in Kurigram in a book.
I also looked through Montgomery Martin’s The History, Antiques, Topography and Statistics of Eastern India (Volume 3) and saw that there is a mention of Ichamati in Kurigram. After searching, I realized that the Ichamati had disappeared due to the erosion of the river. There may be more than the 18 Ichamatis that have been found so far.
There are 5 rivers in the country named Karatoya, 6 named Katakhali, at least 8 named Gazaria, 5 named Dhaleshwari, 6 named Suti, 5 named Kumar, 6 named Dhalai, and 5 named Piyain.
There are 5 separate rivers named Hura Sagar in Sirajganj, 4 named Burail in Rangpur district, and 3 named Girai in Nageshwari upazila of Kurigram district. I am trying to understand why there are so many rivers with the same name. I have understood the reason why the Manas River got the name Burail. A branch of the Burail, which flows across the Rangpur-Kurigram highway, got its name after joining the Manas River at a place called Brahmanikunda.
One explanation can be given here, this name may be due to the branch river of Burail. This is also the case with the Yamuneshwari River. After the Karatoya River meets the Sonraband River in Badarganj, it is named Ghirani. When this Ghirani meets the Yamuneshwari, it again takes the name Karatoya. This Karatoya flows through Bogra. The reason for the names of many rivers with the same name is not known in all cases.
Again, we have seen many names for a river. For example, there are several names for a river flowing through Kurigram. The river is about 30 kilometers long and is a tributary and a tributary of the Dharla River. It started flowing as a tributary of the Dharla River in Kanthalbari, Kurigram. At its source, this river is called Naya Nad. Then it was named Hazir Nad. After some distance, it is known as Seynasir Dara. Further downstream, this river is also called Khalisha Kuri. A little further downstream, this river is called Shialdubi. Further downstream, it is called Garbher Dola. After joining the Chandimari River, it is called Arjuner Dara.
If someone wants to come to a conclusion by searching only the name of the river without doing any on-site research, then the mentioned river can be considered as Naya, Hazir, Khalishakuri, Sanyasiir Dara, Shialdubi, Garbher Dola and Arjuner Dara. There is a river Sati in Lalmonirhat. Although the name is Sati at the source, in some places downstream it is known as Dik Sati, in some places as Teesta. In reality, Sati is now known as Mara Sati.
If the field survey is not appropriate for the purpose of determining the number of rivers, numerical complications will arise. Therefore, whenever we conduct field surveys of rivers, we try to look at the river from bank to bank. Even if the same river has different names, we consider it as one river with a different name.
There is some factual basis for changing the name of a river. The stream that is formed after two rivers join together is considered a separate river. When multiple streams join, the nature of the newly created stream changes. This has happened in our big rivers as well. For example, Brahmaputra and Teesta are two independent big rivers. The two rivers joined at Chilmari in Kurigram and Sundarganj in Gaibandha. Then the river was named Jamuna. Similarly, when Jamuna joined the Ganga river at Goalanda in Rajbari, then it was named Padma. Although due to the widespread use of Padma, the Ganga is being called Padma upstream in Rajshahi. In the distant past, the combined stream of Ganga-Jamuna used to flow as Padma.
There is another limitation in our river numbering. For example, the Karatoya River in Panchagarh entered India under the name Atrai. When this river entered Bangladesh from India again, it is considered as another Atrai. Again, Dharla also entered India again after entering Bangladesh. Then it entered Bangladesh again. Here Dharla is not shown as two.
If many rivers with the same name are nearby, then confusion arises. Whenever we talk about the Burail River in Rangpur, those who are not aware of the river always understand one Burail. Similarly, when we talk about Buritista, everyone understands the Buritista of Nilphamari. The other Buritistas that exist are not thought of at first.
It has also happened that when we tried to find out the name of a new river, we found out that another river we know has a different name. It is necessary to prepare a map of the rivers of our country. Then, it will be easy to identify where there is a name. Even if there are multiple rivers with the same name, they will be easily identified. It is unfortunate that in more than half a century, all the rivers of the country have not been identified separately. The interim government has identified 1,415 rivers. We think that if a little more work can be done, it will be possible to prepare a map of all the rivers of the country.
Source: Prothom Alo
