Two honey collectors sued over fire in the Sundarbans

The Forest Department has filed a case against two honey collectors, six days after a fire broke out in the Sundarbans on May 26. The department has alleged that a flare from their torches, while collecting honey, had caused the fire. The accused are Md Alam Hawlader, 43, and Al Amin Hawlader, 33. The case was filed with Shoronkhola police station on Thursday night, accusing the duo for trespassing into the forest to collect honey. The plaintiff of the case, acting Forest Officer of Nangli camp Mizanur Rahman Mollah, said: “A primary investigation revealed that the duo had illegally entered into the forest and left their flaming torches inside, causing the fire to break out." Also, acting Officer-in-Charge of Shoronkhola police station Md Abdul Jalil confirmed filing the case and said police are trying to arrest the accused. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Sundarbans East Division Md Saidul Islam said the fire broke out on May 26 but did not cause much loss as it was contained easily. “Around 1.5 to  2 acres of forest land, worth around Tk2 lakh, were burnt in the fire,” he said.