Dhaka, March 13 -- Speakers at a discussion here on Thursday called upon the authorities concerned to reclaim the river lands and disclose the name of encroachers in a bid to protect the water bodies as the rivers are living entities.

"A river is a living entity. It cannot be strangled to death. River lands are never private. River lands must be returned to the rivers. The list of encroachers must be published within the next 1 month," said former chairman of the National River Conservation (NRC) Commission Dr Muzibur Rahman Howlader.

On the eve of the International Day of Action for Rivers to be celebrated on March 14, Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (DHORA) organised the discussion titled "The Present and Future of Bangladesh's Rivers" at the N...