The tributary where gentle waves from Padma and Ichamati used to merge is now full of brick fields, houses, and croplands.

The already diverted riverbanks are gradually being encroached and used by the locals for personal consumption. The authorities, on the other hand, are struggling to revive these environmentally and economically significant rivers.

The Daily Star's Pabna correspondent Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu explored the current state of Ichamati river in Star on the Spot.