There are no trees along the 20km road from Bogra to Sariakandi, which was adorned by thousands of huge trees for many years until 2022. Due to a lack of trees, birds cannot make nests, and pedestrians are also unable to take shelter in the shade during this intense heatwave.
Hundreds of thousands of people from Gabtoli, Sariakandi, and Sonatala upazilas travel to Bogra district headquarters using this road.
In 1993, thousands of forest trees were planted on both sides of the road. These trees housed different kinds of birds while giving shade to pedestrians. Two years ago, the trees were auctioned to widen the road. The contractors cut down the large trees but did not take the initiative to plant more.
As a result, the local people are deprived of shade as the steep path heats up in the heatwave.
This correspondent spoke to Mizanur Rahman, a CNG-driven autorickshaw driver, Saeed Ali, a truck driver, and Swadhin, a bus driver, who say it feels like walking on a hot iron bar while travelling on this treeless road at noon.
A few years ago, they used to travel along this road in a very shady environment. They expressed their frustration at the lack of action to plant new trees, stating that the heat has become unbearable due to the removal of trees on both sides of the road.
Autorickshaw driver Moslem Uddin said: "We have to travel through this road 5-6 times a day. We are getting sick of driving all day on treeless roads in the scorching sun.”
Rashed Sultan, a college student who rides a motorcycle, said: "Passengers of three-wheelers or four-wheelers do not feel the heat of the sun because of the roofs. But the bikers are burning in the sun on this treeless road.”
Rajshahi Divisional Director of the Department of Environment Ahsan Habib said: "To avoid the intense heatwave, we should plant trees very quickly on the roads of Bogra where there are no trees."
He suggested talking to the Forest Department about planting trees.
Contacted, Divisional Forest Officer Matlubur Rahman said they cannot plant trees now. “There is no allocation for tree plantations.”
Bogra Deputy Commissioner Saiful Islam said: "We have to plant trees in large numbers to escape from the ongoing heatwave in the country.
“We have a plan to plant trees on every road, highway, and regional road in this district. Necessary instructions have been given to the union chairmen of the areas concerned. The district administration will soon plant trees on the roads where there are no trees.”