After a day's travel through the border settlements of Hatibandha and Patgram upazilas in Lalmonirhat, river researcher Tuhin Wadud, director of the conservation group Riverine People, found four rivers — the Kharpa, Kachua, Shalmara and Sangli. They exist on the ground and in local memory and bhawaiya song, but not in any list kept by the Bangladesh Water Development Board, the National River Conservation Commission or the Ministry of Water Resources.

The search took place on 26 August, in the fierce late-monsoon heat, covering some 250 kilometres on the motorcycle of Mosharraf Hossain, coordinator of Riverine People's Lalmonirhat river protection committee. In Hatibandha the Khapra river could not be found; a local, Abdul Karim, led the way to the Khana, roughly 15 kilometres long and silting up for lack of water though it flowed 30 years ago. The Kharpa enters Bangladesh from India and returns there; locals put its length at about 15 kilometres, and many fish in it.

At the Dharla bridge in Patgram, Nazmul Haque pointed to the Tengramari river, seen beside Kadur Bazar. On the way to the Chenakata, a smaller river, the Kachua, appeared; the Tengramari and Kachua seem to join to form the Chenakata. An elderly resident, Shamsul Haque, spoke of the Shalmara, which was traced to its confluence with the Chenakata. At Bherbheri Bazar a man named Amir said the Sangli enters from India at Konabari in Jagatber union and returns to India three kilometres later.

The search had been for a river called 'Sanguli'; what it found was the 'Sangli', and whether they are one river under two pronunciations could not be settled. At a tea stall in Bherbheri Bazar, Lutfar Rahman and Sabuj sang bhawaiya songs about the Teesta, Dharla, Kachua and Sangli — 'the Kachua is not what it was, the bride no longer comes down with her pitcher' — rivers absent from the state's ledgers but alive in music.

Maksumul Hakim Chowdhury, chairman of the National River Conservation Commission, and Muh. Rashedul Haque Prodhan, Lalmonirhat deputy commissioner and head of the district river protection committee, both asked for the details and said they want the rivers listed. Rivers found the same way in the past — the Khatkhatia in Rangpur, the Shakha Deonai in Nilphamari and the Bhakti in Thakurgaon — were added to the water ministry's latest list in 2025.

A river that is not listed has no legal shield against encroachment and filling. These small border rivers supply local fish, irrigation and wetlands; putting them on the record is the first step to keeping them alive.

Source: Prothom Alo