The Water Development Board (PUB) and the River Protection Commission have prepared a draft list of rivers. The draft list includes 1,294 rivers in the country. The number was 1,156 in the draft list in December last year.
The Paubo list was put up on its website on Thursday for comments from river experts, river workers and experts. The draft list was prepared about seven months after the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Shipping ordered a new count of rivers.
When asked, PAUBO Director General AKM Tahmidul Islam told Prothom Alo, “We found 1,294 rivers in the draft list we made. We have put it on the website so that we can make a complete list with everyone’s opinions.”
The Director General further said, ‘This list has been prepared as a joint initiative of Paubo and the River Protection Commission. We have used our technology. In addition, the commission has cooperated with them by providing CS and RS accounts. We have sent the list to the upazila level, so that we get a complete list of rivers.’
In 2013, a survey by the River Protection Commission revealed that the number of rivers was 857, which sparked controversy at the time.
In December last year, the Shipping Advisor and the Water Resources Advisor jointly organized a meeting. At that meeting, the Paubo and River Protection Commission were instructed to prepare a complete list of rivers within two months.
The meeting also decided to create an action plan with a specific deadline to free the rivers from illegal encroachment.
Source: Prothom Alo
