Water museum in Patuakhali showcases riverine Bangladesh

Rivers are said to be the source of all glories of Bangladesh and their impact on the socio-economic sphere can never be neglected. As part of recognising the importance of rivers and water-bodies, Bangladesh holds the crown in introducing Asia’s first water museum to the world.

The museum, situated in Pakhimara village of Nilganj union of Patauakhali Upazila, has a collection of water extracted from 87 rivers in Bangladesh and other international rivers in transparent glass jars. It also holds the short history of those rivers.

Established on December 29, 2014, by Action Aid Bangladesh (AAB), the museum is currently run by Kalapara Coastal Public Welfare Association with support from Avas, a private development organisation.

The premise has a wooden boat set up on the sand and two wood-made Ghazal fishes are laid on the base of the boat. The whole museum is built over 500 square feet of land.

The design of the museum is as simple as it could be where a two-storied tin-shed holds the waters, various photographs and fishing equipment to showcase the traditional water-dependent culture of the Bengal region. Notable of these are fishnets, jhanki net, chai, sails, crab hunting tool, clay-made bowls, pots, utensils, and bamboo baskets, among others. The walls of the museum have been decorated with pictures of canals and rivers, fish of different species, fishermen and potters, as well as scenes of coastal people's livelihoods.

The Water Museum contains information on the history of the 700 rivers of Bangladesh alongside several photographs depicting effects of climate change. It also holds detailed information about 57 transborder rivers of the country.

The museum is slowly gaining the attention of tourists heading to Kuakata sea beach as it sees a crowd of 150-200 visitors per day on average.

One of them, Rifat, said he strayed from his tour plan and made time after hearing about this museum from the locals.

 According to Action Aid Bangladesh sources, the establishment of the museum has evolved to counter the lack of adequate initiatives to protect rivers across South Asian nations as the bilateral treaties and government policies on water management do not look at water from a holistic point of view. They intend to uphold the issue of rivers and their water outside political bias and encourage re-imagining river from a humane and ecological point of view. Officials in charge of the water museum said that after the museum was established, the number of tourists has been increasing day by day.

Avas Executive Director Rahima Sultana Kajal told the news agency the rivers are endangered and coastal people are among the most affected.

 

Water museum in Patuakhali showcases riverine Bangladesh

Rivers are said to be the source of all glories of Bangladesh and their impact on the socio-economic sphere can never be neglected. As part of recognising the importance of rivers and water-bodies, Bangladesh holds the crown in introducing Asias first water museum to the world. The museum, situated in Pakhimara village of Nilganj union of Patauakhali Upazila, has a collection of water extracted from 87 rivers in Bangladesh and other international rivers in transparent glass jars. It also holds the short history of those rivers. Established on December 29, 2014, by Action Aid Bangladesh (AAB), the museum is currently run by Kalapara Coastal Public Welfare Association with support from Avas, a private development organisation. The premise has a wooden boat set up on the sand and two wood-made Ghazal fishes are laid on the base of the boat. The whole museum is built over 500 square feet of land. The design of the museum is as simple as it could be where a two-storied tin-shed holds the waters, various photographs and fishing equipment to showcase the traditional water-dependent culture of the Bengal region. Notable of these are fishnets, jhanki net, chai, sails, crab hunting tool, clay-made bowls, pots, utensils, and bamboo baskets, among others. The walls of the museum have been decorated with pictures of canals and rivers, fish of different species, fishermen and potters, as well as scenes of coastal peoples livelihoods. The Water Museum contains information on the history of the 700 rivers of Bangladesh alongside several photographs depicting effects of climate change. It also holds detailed information about 57 transborder rivers of the country. The museum is slowly gaining the attention of tourists heading to Kuakata sea beach as it sees a crowd of 150-200 visitors per day on average. One of them, Rifat, said he strayed from his tour plan and made time after hearing about this museum from the locals. According to Action Aid Bangladesh sources, the establishment of the museum has evolved to counter the lack of adequate initiatives to protect rivers across South Asian nations as the bilateral treaties and government policies on water management do not look at water from a holistic point of view. They intend to uphold the issue of rivers and their water outside political bias and encourage re-imagining river from a humane and ecological point of view. Officials in charge of the water museum said that after the museum was established, the number of tourists has been increasing day by day. Avas Executive Director Rahima Sultana Kajal told the news agency the rivers are endangered and coastal people are among the most affected.