Dhaka – The threat of extinction of Bangladesh rivers is the subject of ‘Amar Nodi’ (My River), a special content that will be on BBC Bangla from April 9 and April 16 on radio, online and social media, unb news agency reported.
Most of Bangladesh’s 166 million people live on basins dominated by some of the world’s mightiest river systems. Experts believe 50-80 of the country’s estimated 435 active rivers are now facing extinction.BBC Bangla Editor, Sabir Mustafa, says: “The rivers of Bangladesh play a critical role in the people’s lives and in the country’s economy. Yet, many of those rivers are dying due to human intervention.”
With ‘Amar Nodi’, he said, “We bring to the fore the human activities that are threatening the rivers, and look at implications of their disappearance. We also celebrate the lives and culture of people living along the waterways. We hope to contribute to the public debate about how to save the mighty rivers of Bangladesh.”
A special index on bbcbangla.com will bring stories, audio and video contents, picture galleries and an interactive map. An event page on the BBC Bangla Facebook page will feature photos and comments contributed by BBC journalists and BBC Bangla audiences.
A Google Hangout, bringing together experts, policy planners and ordinary citizens, concerned about the plight of the country’s rivers, will be streamed live and available on demand on the BBC Bangla YouTube channel.
Besides, BBC Bangla radio will bring investigative reports focusing on 10 rivers facing the threat of extinction – and audio diaries of people whose livelihoods depend on those rivers.
BBC Bangla’s Qadir Kallol will broadcast live radio reports and conversations with people living along their banks, and a River Special phone-in will take questions on the current environmental and economic outlook.
A special edition of BBC Bangla’s weekly music programme, Gaangalpo, will feature folk songs related to rivers and river life.
BBC Bangla radio programmes (available on FM, shortwave and via the website bbcbangla.com) are produced in London and Dhaka. The BBC’s Dhaka bureau produces BBC Bangla’s two morning radio transmissions.
The website bbcbangla.com registers over a million unique visitors per month. The BBC Bangla Facebook page has around 7.2 million followers (April 2016).
BBC Bangla’s weekly current-affairs programme, BBC Probaho, broadcast live by Channel-i in Bangladesh at 9.35 pm local time every Thursday, has a weekly audience of 1.7 million (survey conducted July-September 2015).
