More than 63,900 trees worth more than Tk10,000crore have been indiscriminately felled by opposition activists, mostly those of Jamaat-e-Islami and its student wing Islami Chhtra Shibir since February so far.
Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) disclosed the information at a press briefing in the capital yesterday. The timber value of these trees were more than Tk35crore while the total damage caused to the environment stood more than Tk10,000crore, said the speakers.
They said since the protests against the sentence handed down to war criminal Delawar Hossain Sayedee on February 28, the activists of the opposition BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir have destroyed around 40,000 trees across the country during hartal and blockade programmes.
The protest through cutting down trees were found intense in capital’s Paltan, Noya Paltan, Kakrail, Fakirapool, Dainik Bangla intersection, Shapla Chattar areas after the May 5 Hefazat’s mayhem.
Around 20,000 roadside trees were chopped off on the Cox’s Bazar-Chittagong and Noakhali-Chandpur highways. After the spell of blockades broke out on November 26, the protestors went on another tree cutting spree to block different roads and highways.
Trees were cut in large numbers in Satkhira, Rangpur, Gaibandha, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Joypurhat, Lalmonirhat, Bogra, Meherpur, Nilphamari, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Lakshmipur, Chanpur, Noakhali, Pabna, Jessore, Pirojpur, Chuadanga, Sirajganj, Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj, Natore and Naogaon districts.
According to environmentalists, a country needs 25% forests on its total land area in order to maintain the ecological balance whereas in our country the proportion was only 17%. The recent attacks on trees have caused an “irreparable” loss to the country, said Kamal Pasha Chowdhury, general secretary of Poba.
He said those harming the environment did not have any right to do politics as they could not serve people for certain.
“Yes, we are acclaiming it to the opposition parties. And the ruling party also must promise that they would not do the same if they become the opposition party”, he added.
He urged everyone to come forward to prevent such mindless acts and the people who cause harm to the environment.
Engineer Md Abdus Sobhan, joint general secretary of Poba, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We collected the information from locals, local newspapers, and other sources in the affected areas.”
“We should preserve the environment and protect biodiversity through taking care of trees instead of treating them with cruelty,” said Sobhan.
The speakers said animals and trees were unable to express themselves. The nation would fall victim to natural disasters because of the paucity of trees and imbalance in biodiversity.