We have come across many people who have travelled all over Bangladesh before. But for the first time in history, someone has made a map of our country using soil from all 64 districts.
Shuvongkar Paul, from the Barangkula village of the Alfadanga upazila and a final-year student of the Film and Media Department of Stamford University, first started collecting soil from various districts out of sheer enthusiasm in 2016.
At the beginning he personally collected soil from 12 districts and later sought help from family and Facebook friends as well.
Later, when Sherpur, Jhalokati and Munshiganj’s soil were left to be collected, the then Faridpur deputy commissioner Umme Salma Tanzia decided to come forward to support Shuvongkar to turn his dream into a reality.
Shuvongkar Paul, right, and one of his associates are seen busy making the map of Bangladesh using soils collected from 64 districts | Dhaka Tribune
Finally, Shuvongkar started to make the map. The map is 26 inches in length and 18 inches wide.
Shuvongkar said: “At first, my family and friends laughed at me, but they gradually started to support me in making the map.”
He gave specific priority while collecting soil to sightseeing places or educational institutions,from the various districts.
His father Nihar Ranjan Paul and mother Amrita Paul, at the beginning of the project did not pay much attention to it. But later, Shuvongkar’s mother was the one who supported him the most to achieve his dream.
Shuvongkar is planning to showcase his map at a display on October 3 at the Faridpur District Development Fair.
He is also plans to do bigger works of this sort in the future.
