Readers' Forum: The beauty of rivers

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When we were school students we heard of six seasons namely the Summer, the Rainy, the Autumn, the late Autumn, the Winter and the Spring. The people of this country used to observe every season as per their own customs and practices and exchanged views with one another. I remember my childhood days of joys at Ullapara in Sirajganj district (at that time it was under Pabna district). We enjoyed boat race in the greetings flowing to the brim in the Rainy season, severe cold in the Winter, nor’wester in the Summer, the beauty of sky viz glittering stars, nebula, meteor, moon at night in the Autumn and harvest of new paddy in the late Autumn and gentle breeze in the Spring.
All these now seem stories of the past. Nowadays none wants to listen to the beauty of the past because human life has lost its glamour. Walking by the river Padma at Rajshahi in the evening gave us untold pleasure and the train journey at night had no words to explain our emotions. Bangladesh is a country of ‘Beauty of rivers’. Once upon a time, Bangladesh has followed 800 rivers. Many big rivers have already died. Canals, beels, ponds, lakes and marsh are no more, taking away much of the country’s beauty.
We know that we cannot bring back every thing but we can do to a great extent. Would our readers put some suggestions?

Ashraqur Rahman
Dhaka

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