RIVER IN BANGLADESH

Bangladesh is a riverine country. About 800 rivers including tributaries flow through the country constituting a waterway of total length around 24,140 km. Most of the country's land is formed through silt brought by the rivers. Following is a list of some of the major rivers of Bangladesh:There are quite a few rivers in the district of Bogra. Taking the Karatoya as the central dividing water-channel of the district, the other rivers may be classified into the eastern and the Western systems. The course of all the rivers is, with such allowances as must be made for beds and windings, nearly uniform north and south. The eastern rivers are Monas, Charkadaha and Khamati besides a few other smaller ones. Through the khiar tracts in the western parts of the district flow the Nagar, the Tulshiganga, Nagar and other minor streams. All the western rivers are the tributaries of the Atrai which itself flows into the Jamuna 12 miles north of the confluence of that river with the Ganges (padma) at Goalunda. Evidences show that the rivers Karatoya and Nagar have changed their courses in the past, while the Jamuna, lying on the eastern boundary of the district, is in fact a new channel of the Brahmaputra. A very small river, Tarai used to occupy more or less the present location of the Jamuna. At that time the Brahmaputra used to flow to the east round the foot of the Garo Hills. The earliest evidence of the Brahmaputra river consists of a group of large Brahmaputra-size river scars which extend into the Sylhet basin flanking the southern edge of the Shillong plateau . The main river apparently extended east beyond this locality and then swung south into the Bay of Bengal. By the time of Rennell's mapping, this course had been abandoned in favour of a shorter route down what is still called the old Brahmaputra river past Mymensingh.By the early 1770s the major diversion of the Brahmaputra into its present channel, west of the Madhupur jungle, had occurred. There is no complete agreement as to when this diversion down the Jenai river of Rennell occurred. Apparently by 1830 the diversion of low-river flow down the new channel was complete. The rivers of the former Nadia district, of which Kushtia was a part, were grouped together and known as "Nadia Rivers" because of the peculiar condition of the Nadia district and special measures taken by the Government to keep them flowing. All the rivers of the former Nadia district (and of the present. Kushtia for the matter of that) were offshoots of the Padma (lower Ganges). But at one time when the Ganges found its way to the sea along the course of the Bhagirathi, there must have been some earlier streams to carry the drainage of the Darjeeling-Himalayas to the sea. Bhairab is said to be one of those streams. Mter the Ganges drifted to the east and the Padma grew mighty and majestic all the drainage of northern and upper Bengal was intercepted by it. The Jamuna, nowhere less than 4 miles wide duriug rains, is running in the west and the equally important Meghna encloses the district on the east. They are connected by the old channel of the Brahmaputra running through the centre of the district in a south-easterly direction from above Bahadurabad up to Bhairab Bazar. The district of Noakhali is not intersected by so many rivers as the other deltaic districts of Bangladesh. On the west and south of the district and between the islands flows the Meghna with all its bifurcations each of which is much bigger than an ordinary river, and on the east the Feni subdivision is drained by the great and little Feni rivers. In the intervening country there are no rivers of any size and the drainage there depends on a few tidal channels or khals, of which the principal are the Noakhali khal, the Mahendra Khal and the Bhowaniganj Khal.In sharp contrast with the mainland to its south, there is a network of khals in the islands. As one advances from the older formation of chars towards the newer ones, the number of khals gradually increases. The khals gradually silt up, but where diluvion goes on, new khals come into existence and the old ones become wider and wider.

Rivers in Noakhali District

1. Meghna River 2. Dakatia River 3. Bhawaniganj Khal River 4. Mahendrak Khal River 5. Noakhali Khal River 6. Little Feni River 7. Big Feni River 8. Muhuri River 9. Seloneah River

Pabna District

The district is intersected by rivers of varying magnitude. But in fact, the river system is constituted by the Padma and the Jamuna with their interlacing offshoots and tributaries. Besides these flowing streams, the interior is visited by the abandoned beds of old rivers, most of which are dry except in the rains.

The general trend of the drainage of the Serajganj subdivision is from north-west to south-east, the rivers entering it from the north-west flow into the Jamuna after a tortuous course. In the Sadar subdivision, however, the general slope of the country is from west to east, and the main rivers fall into Hurasagar, an offshoot of the Jamuna.

Rivers in Pabna District

1. Padma River 2. Ichhamati River 3. Baral River 4. Atrai River 5. Chiknai River 6. Jamuna River 7. Kazipur River 8. Karatoya River

Rajshahi District

Excepting the Ganges or the Padma, the Mahananda and the Atrai, the rivers of Rajshahi district are of little hydrographic importance. For, most of the rivers are more or less moribund, that is, they are not active flowing streams except during the rainy season. During the rainy season these moribund rivers act as excellent drainage channels draining off a large volume of water and have a considerable current. Most of these rivers are narrow and flow in well-defined channels.

Principal rivers in Rajshahi District

1. Padma River 2. Mahananda River 3. Atrai River 4. Gur River 5. Jamuna River 6. Baral River 7. Musakhan River 8. Nandakuja River 9. Gumani River 10. Baralai River 11. Narad River

Tangail District

The newly formed Tangail district is flanked on the west by the mighty river Jamuna, which is nowhere less than 4 miles wide during the rainy season. The Dhaleshwari, first an old channel of the Ganges and then of the Brahmaputra, cuts across the south-western comer of the district on its powerful sweep to join the Meghna near Narayanganj. The old name of Dhaleswari was "Gajghata". It used to flow afterwards by the Salimabad Channel and then at last by Porabari Channell. A part of the eastern boundary of the district runs close to the Banar river. The river Bangshi flows almost down the middle of the district, branching out from the old Brahmaputta to the north from near Jamalpur. Bangshi falls into Dhaleswari near Savar, in Dhaka district. The Bangshi forms a natural barrier to the Madhupur Jungle on the Tangail side, all the way from Madhupur to Mirzapur. It is only fordable at two or three places near Basail on its my to river Meghna. Dhaleswari itself however takes out from the Jamuna from inside Tangail district.

Among other important rivers of the district, Lohajang is worth mentioning. It flows past the district headquarters of Tangail and is almost dead at present (in moribund condition). Other rivers are Khiru, Nanglai Nadi, Atai, and Jhinai. The old Brahmaputra's most important off-shoot is the Jhinai; striking off near Jamalpur it rejoins the Jamuna north of Sarishabari, while another branch flows past Gopalpur. Now these sub-systems of rivers, viz, Bangshi and Banar, and the Lohajang, Khiru, Nangtai Nadi, Atia and Jhinai are all dying out because of the shift of the old Brahmaputra river from its former channel to the present Jamuna channel.

The most important question in connection with the river system of Tangail vis-a-vis Mymensingh district is when and why the Bmbmaputra river changed its main old channel. During the last 150 years or so, this diversion of the old Brahmaputra to its present Jamuna channel has considerably prompted the geographers and geologists to enquire deep into it. Two theories are advanced: As explanation of the diversion, one theory describes the gradua1 uplift of the Madhupur Tract and a final trigger action of the Teesta diversion in 1787 as the chief factor; and the other theory states that the Brahmaputra diversion resulted directly from a major increase in its volume of water due to beheading of the Tsangpo river of Tibet by Dihang, a tributary of the then small Brahmaputral. It has now been proved that the great Tibetan river Tsangpo joined the Brahmaputra about 1780 and this accession was more important than the Teesta floods in deciding the Brahmaputra to try a shorter way to the sea.

With the help of Major James Rennel's maps (1764 to 1773) and of the Revenue Survey it is possible to reconstruct the history of the Bengal Delta and its river systems. It was Rennel who carried out the first ever accurate cadestral surveys and laid the basis for the geographical study of Bengal. At the end of the 18th century, probably as a result of the great Tista floods in 1787, the Brahmaputra changed its course and joined the Padma at Goulundo. No piece-meal study of an intricate river system is possible, without distortion and inadequacy.

Even though we assume that the change in the course of the main waters of the old Brahmaputra took place suddenly in 1787, the year of the famous flooding of the Teesta river, the Teesta has been always a wandering river, sometimes joining the Ganges, sometimes being shifted oastwards by the superior strength of the river Ganges and forced to join the Brahmaputra at last.

Whatever might have been the cause, it is obvious that by 1830, the diversion of old Brahmaputra was complete, ushering in a gradual but radical change in the river system of the Tangail district. The old channel of the Brahmaputra had been reduced to its present insignificance.

In 1850 Sir Joseph Hooker wrote "we are surprised to hear that within the last 20 years the main channel of Brahmaputra had shifted its course westwards, its eastern channel silted up so rapidly that the Jamuna eventually became the principal stream.

Self-employment

Self-employment is working for oneself. Self-employed people work for themselves instead of an employer, drawing income from a trade or business that they operate. To be self-employed is not necessarily the same as being a business owner: Many self-employed people conduct the day-to-day operations of the business, either as managers as line workers or both. A business owner may or may not work in the business, and is not required do so. In some countries' governments (the US's and UK's, for example) are cracking down on disguised employment, often described as the pretense of a contractual intra-business relationship to hide what is otherwise a simple employer-employee relationship. In the United States, any person is considered self-employed for tax purposes if that person is running a business as a sole proprietorship, independent contractor, as a member of a partnership, or as a member of a limited liability company that does not elect to be treated as a corporation. In addition to income taxes, these individuals must pay Social Security and Medicare taxes in the form of a SECA (Self-Employment Contributions Act) tax. The self-employment tax in the United States is typically set at 15.30% which is roughly the equivalent of the combined contributions of the employee and employer under the FICA tax. The rate consists of two parts: 12.4% for social security and 2.9% for Medicare. The social security portion of the self-employment tax only applies to the first $110,100 of income for the 2012 tax year. There is no limit to the amount that is taxable under the 2.9% Medicare portion of the self-employment tax. Generally, only 92.35% of the self-employment income is taxable at the above rates. Additionally, half of the self-employment tax, i.e., the employer-equivalent portion, is allowed as a deduction against income. The 2010 Tax Relief Act reduced the self-employment tax by 2% for self-employment income earned in calendar year 2011,^[1] for a total of 13.3%. This rate will continue for income earned in calendar year 2012, due to the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011. Self-employed persons sometimes declare more deductions than an ordinary employee. Travel, uniforms, computer equipment, cell phones, etc., can be deducted as legitimate business expenses. Self-employed persons report their business income or loss on Schedule C of IRS Form 1040 and calculate the self-employment tax on Schedule SE of IRS Form 1040. Estimated taxes must be paid quarterly using form 1040-ES if estimated tax liability exceeds $1,000.Research has shown that levels of self-employment in the United States are increasing, and that under certain circumstances this can have positive effects on per capita income and job creation. A 2011 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and Pennsylvania State University looked at U.S. self-employment levels from 1970 to 2000. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the absolute number of people registered as non-farm proprietors (NFPs) or self-employed in metropolitan counties grew by 244% between 1969 and 2006, and by 93% in non-metropolitan counties. In relative terms, the share of self-employed within the labor force grew from 14% in 1969 to 21% in 2006 in metropolitan counties, and from 11% to 19% in non-metropolitan counties. In non-metropolitan counties, the study found that increased levels of self-employment were associated with strong increases in per capita income and job creation and significant reductions in family poverty levels. In 1969, the average income of non-farm proprietors was $6,758 compared to $6,507 earned by salaried employees; by 2006 the difference in earnings widened to $12,041 in favor of salaried employees. The study notes that the gap could be due to underreporting of income by the self-employed. Alternatively, low-productivity workers could be losing their jobs and are forced to be self-employed.^[3][4] Further, some research shows that higher local unemployment rates lead workers to self-select into self-employment, as does past unemployment experience. A self-employed person in the United Kingdom can operate as a sole trader or as a partner in a partnership (including a Limited Liability Partnership or "LLP") but not through an incorporated limited (or unlimited) liability company. It is also possible for someone to form a business that is run only part-time or concurrently while holding down a full-time job. This form of employment, while popular, does come with several legal responsibilities. When working from home clearance may sometimes be required from the local authority to use part of the home as business premises. Should the business hold records of customers or suppliers in any electronic form it is required to register with the Information Commissioner's Office. Other legal responsibilities include statutory public liability insurance cover, modifying premises to be disabled-friendly, and the proper recording and accounting of financial transactions. Free advice on the range of responsibilities is available from government operated Business Link centres. Many people living with disabilities choose to be self-employed. A self-employed person may be subject to more taxes than an average employee. In addition to both the employee and employer National Insurance contributions, there may be VAT, business rates and other taxes payable to central and local governments.

STUDENT AND SOCIAL SERVICE

Like others, students have also their duties towards the society. Students are the future citizens of the country and have different roles to play. Though they should devote a greater part of their time in attending to their studies they should spend a portion of their time in the service of the people. It is needless to say that they get much time for merry making, playing, amusements, touring etc. apart from their routine life of study. Students should cultivate the spirit of service from the very formative stage.Most of the time of a student is wasted in idle gossip, in roaming and in fruitless work. It is better to utilise the power of youth in socially productive work than to squander our precious time in loitering at the market place or before theatre hall. If a student utilizes his time fruitfully and in socially useful work he gets contentment. Contentment is his satisfaction with his position. Students should remember that they are born for the improvement of the society by instilling the spirit of service in them. They can help the mankind in the best possible way. If a student does not have the will or spirit to work he cannot succeed in life. We elevate our life style by doing well to the society. Social service is a voluntary work and one cannot be compelled to do a work. Social service fulfills two conditions. It helps one to utilise the leisure hours and the society gets benefited by it. The value of social service should be taught to students to create inspiration in them. They should be enthused to pay their utmost strength and service to the society to make their existence meaningful. Students should be taught how to serve the people of their country. They may teach reading, writing and arithmetic to the vast majority of illiterate Indians. They may render service to the members of the society in their time of need. They may relieve the suffering of the masses by nursing the sick. Spreading education is no mean service. They can make the illiterate masses aware of their rights and duties. Once zeal is created amongst the students illiteracy may be wiped out. The Government cannot fulfill the ambitions of the vast mass of people. Hence the students can guide the people in the right direction whether it is a question of digging canals or constructing educational institutions. Sympathy and fellow feeling should be imparted the students to do some noble works for the people. People of our country are not aware of how to keep the atmosphere hygienic. People can be taught by students how to lead a life of cleanliness and how to keep their lives free from diseases. Students can co-operate with people on matters of public interest such as education, sanitation, trade and commerce. Students can participate in cleaning drains, ponds during the leisure hours. They can help people during natural calamities such as earth quake, flood, drought, cyclone by collecting funds from different sources. Students have a spirit to work but the guardians and, teacher should guide them in the right way. Social service can be safely managed if they can be guided properly. Our leaders should guide them in the right way.

HSC question 3

Part A : Grammar (40 marks)

1.  Complete the passage with suitable verbs from the list. Put them in the correct

   tenses. Use negative where necessary.                            1X5=5

hold

bring

dispel

sit

educate

build

suit

A teacher is an architect of a nation. He plays an important role in (a) ----- up a educated nation. He (b) ----- the darkness of ignorance from the lot of a nation. He is an actor while speaking. He has to (c) ----- his acting according to the need of his listeners. He is able to (d) ----- the attention of his students. He (e) ----- motionless before his class.

2.  Fill in the gaps using appropriate prepositions.                     1X5=5

In the long run a sinner at once (a) ----- his sin because he knows that everyone will have to account (b) ----- god (c) ----- his/her deeds. So, when a sinner becomes really repentant, he/she is seen devoted (d) ----- god. Sometimes he/she is seen absorbed (e) ----- deep meditation.

3.  Use articles where necessary. Put a cross (x) where article is not needed.  

                                                           .5X10=5

(a) ----- beautiful garden surrounds the Tajmahal. (b) ----- green trees of (c) ----- garden make the Tajmahal’s marble look even (d) ----- white. There is a long, narrow pool in (e) ----- front of (f) ----- main entrance to (g) ----- building. If you look in this pool, you can see all (h) ----- beauty of the Tajmahal in (i) ----- reflection in (j) ----- water.

4.  Complete the sentences with suitable phrase or idioms from the list.   1X5=5

lion’s share	up & doing	well-to-do	pros and cons
fair weather friend	muster together	black sheep	beggar description

 

   (a)     He comes of a ----- family.

   (b)     People ----- in the meeting.

   (c)     ----- never come in hard days.

   (d)     Their sufferings ----- in the rainy season.

   (e)     The mill owners take the ----- of the profit.

5.  Add tag questions to the following statements.                     1X5=5

   (a)  Every mother loves her child, -----?

   (b)  Time changes all things, -----?

   (c)  Let us play football, -----?

   (d)  How sweetly the bird sings, -----?

   (e)  You need buy a new shirt, -----?

6. Change the form of speech of the following.                           5

“I’ve got GPA-5 in the SSC examination,” said Rafiq. “Congratulations!” I said. “What do you intend to do now? “I want to study in a reputed college. I’ll try to get admission in Notre Dame College, “Rafiq replied.

7.  Transform the following sentences as directed in the brackets.        1X5=5

   (a)  What is miserable life he leads! (Assertive)

   (b)  Gold is one of the most precious metals. (Positive)

   (c)  When the match was over, we returned home. (Simple)

   (d)  “The news is too good to be true. (Complex)

   (e)  Unless you read well, you won’t pass well. (Compound)

8.  Complete the following sentences.                              1X5=5

   (a)     Hardly had I reached the station -----.

   (b)     We work hard lest -----.

   (c)     I didn’t see him since -----.

   (d)     ----- before father comes.

   (e)     Had I seen you -----.

{172}          Jhenidah Cadet College, Jhenidah

Part A : Grammar

1.  Right from of verbs

   (a) building; (b) dispels; (c) suit; (d) hold; (e) does not sit.

2.  Appropriate prepositions

   (a) for; (b) to; (c) for; (d) to; (e) in.

3.  Use of articles

   (a) a; (b) the; (c) the; (d) x; (e) x; (f) the; (g) the; (h) the; (i)

   the; (j) x.

4.  Use of phrase & idioms

   (a) well-to-do; (b) mustered together; (c) fair weather friends; (d) beggar

   description; (e) lion’s share.

5.  Tag questions

   (a)  Every mother loves her child, don’t they?

   (b)  Time changes all things, doesn’t it?

   (c)  Let us play football, shall we?

   (d)  How sweetly the bird sings, doesn’t it?

   (e)  You need buy a new shirt, needn’t you?

6.  Changing the form of speech

Rafiq told me that he had got GPA-5 in the SSC examination. I congratulated him and asked him what he intended to do then. Rafiq replied that he wanted to study in a reputed college and would try to get admission in Notre Dame College.

7.  Transformation of sentences

   (a)     He leads a very miserable life.

   (b)     Very few metals are as precious as gold.

   (c)     The match being over, we returned home.

   (d)     The news is so good that it can’t be true.

   (e)     Read well or you won’t pass well.

7.  Completing sentences.

   (a)     Hardly had I reached the station when the train left.

   (b)     We work hard lest we should fail in the examination.

   (c)     I didn’t see him since he had lift this place.

   (d)     I shall finish the job before father comes.

   (e)     Had I seen you I would have called you.