SAMBALPUR : Even as the conflict over sharing of river Mahanadi is hotting up, the origin of the river has been wrongly mentioned in geography textbook of Class IX of Board of Secondary Education (BSE), Odisha. Surprisingly, the mistake went unnoticed till an environmentalist pointed it out and moved the BSE to make the correction.
In fact, river Mahanadi originates from Sihawa Mountain in Chhattisgarh while river Narmada originates from Amarkantak. Environmentalist Durga Prasad Nath said that in the textbook it is mentioned that river Mahanadi originates from Amarkantak.
Talking to ‘Express,’ Nath said Amarkantak has been mentioned as the place from where river Mahanadi originates before entering Odisha in Jharsuguda district. Maintaining that the information is incorrect as the river originates from Sihawa Mountain in Dhamtari, Nath moved the BSE over the issue. He suggested that the correction be made in the textbook soon.
He said the mistake would have gone unnoticed had it not been for the conflict over sharing of river Mahanadi. Ever since the issue cropped up, he has been collecting facts about the river.
Nath drew the attention of the Secretary, Board of Secondary Education, Minister of Schools and Mass Education and Director of Schools and Mass Education requesting them to make the correction. He said the BSE has agreed to make the correction in the new edition of the textbook.