Nearly 20,000 acres of mangrove forests in Moheshkhali coastal belt are being destroyed due to an unknown disease in an epidemic form and illegal felling by unscrupulous people following lack of proper monitoring by the authorities concerned.
According to forest office sources, if the extinction of trees in the forests is going on, the ecology and bio-diversity of the whole region will be affected. Besides, the area, which is situated in the coastal belt, will have to face natural calamities including storm and cyclone.
While visited, the deteriorating scenario was found in Gorokghata, Sonadia, Dhalghata, Kalamiar Chhara, Ghatibhanga, Chhoto Moheshkhali, Shaplapur and other places.
Many species of trees including screw pine trees were planted by forest division in those areas. The areas were getting dense with trees, but the black hands of grabbers followed by attack of the disease hindered the beneficial process to a great extent.
The grabbers have been cutting green tress of seven to eight years of age. The trees within pine forest developed adjacent to government primary school can hardly be seen now-a-days.
Newly planted pine forest on 925 acres of land in Sonadia Island have been already axed.
According to local experts, climate change and other factors relating to salinity has caused extinction of about 2,000 trees on the western side of the island.
More than 80 per cent of mangrove forest, developed by planting pine trees in five bit areas and covering about 15,000 acres of land, turned into greyish colour following the disease. One kind of unknown insect is multiplying the infection very fast from one tree to another, according to locals.
Talking with the inhabitants adjacent to Gorakghata and Adinath Mandir, it can be known that the leaves of pine trees look gray colour.
Locals said 80 per cent of the mangrove forest, abounding with pine trees, are being destroyed due to less surveillance and steps by concerned department.
Anisul Haque, range officer of Gorokghata under Moheskhali forest division said: “The effort of creating parabon in Moheskhali coastal areas in between 1980 to 2009 has been foiled by heavy attack of diseases in epidemic form and misdeeds of grabbers.”
Sarder Shariful Islam, assistant director at the department of environment said a plan had been taken already to save the mangrove forest.