Tourism stakeholders in India, Bangladesh, Nepal join hands for conservation of rivers

PRASHANT ACHARYAS, EOI, ILIGURI, JUNE 12, 2023: Tourism stakeholders from India, Bangladesh and Nepal have joined hands to enhance the conservation of rivers, paving the way for regional cooperation.

A meeting was held at Siliguri during the three-day-long Mango festival where more than 50 delegates from Nepal and Bangladesh participated in the yearly event to promote tourism. 

In a meeting called ‘Corridor Conservation’, residents of the border areas in Bangladesh, India and Nepal got together to discuss about the continuity of land and culture continuity.

It was decided that the conservation and revival of natural resources would begiven the highest priority. A 200 km stretch of the Tulsi Ganga River in the north of Bangladesh will be adopted for the purpose, a common course on river conservation and river tourism will be implemented among the three countries and community led heritage conservation of the area will be worked upon. 

A combined visit will be made to Dinajpur, Joypurhat and Rangpur districts in northern Bangladesh during the end of July 2023. The responsibility of coordination has been given to Siliguri’s Association for Conservation & Tourism (ACT) and convenor of ACT Raj Basu will lead a team for Bangladesh to conduct a detailed survey. 

President of Bangladesh Tourism Foundation Mokhelesur Rahaman focused on conserving the trans-boundary rivers jointly with the counterparts of India and Nepal and also to start study courses on rivers and streams in colleges and universities.

He also said that the project could lead to an increased level of community involvement in equitable and sustainable water resource management. The joint venture between three Asian countries isa key prerequisite to achieve sustainable solution of river water. Discussions were also held on causes, effects and solution of depletion of natural resources. 

Rezaul Karim Sumon, a tourism stakeholder and popular blogger of Bangladesh, highlighted the pathetic problems faced by fishermen and local people who depended for their source of income on ‘dead rivers.’

He said: “The south Asian nation of nearly 170 million, with about 23 million living in Dhaka, has about 220 small and large rivers and a large chunk of its population depends on rivers for a living and transport. There is no fish and aquatic creatures in the river during the dry season. We call these rivers as ‘Biologically dead.’

”Devi Prasad Acharya, a farmer and social activist of eastern Nepal, highlighted the issue of electrofishing in Mechi River since decades. 

He said that a committee had  been formed recently to save the aquatic life and lawbreakers had been fined. The members of the committee had also left around 5,000varieties of various juvenile fish in the rivers to maintain the ecosystem.

Raj Basu said: “The meeting was fruitful and the work will be started after the survey in July end. Twenty delegates from India and Nepal will visit Bangladesh for a 10- day-long tour."