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JU to cut trees to stop illegal tree felling

Staff Correspondent
The Jahangirnagar University (JU) authorities have initiated a move to bring down a few hundred trees on the campus in a bid to, what they said, stop illegal tree felling and remove age-old trees detrimental to health, that sparked protest by the students and environmentalists.
Environmentalists said it would damage ecosystem of the “green campus" which is home to about 150 species of birds and temporary abode to thousands of migratory birds.
The university staffs have primarily marked 480 trees - mostly teak, rain tree, mango and jackfruit to chop down, upsetting students of the university who formed a human chain in front of the vice chancellor's office yesterday demanding a stop to the move.
The university authorities, however, said a total of around 200 trees would be cut down. 2
■■■( Dhaka Thursday September 18,2008
"We're not going to fell so many trees. In fact, we are yet to identify which trees to fell. Staff of our Estate Office marked those for inspection by an expert body,” JU Treasurer Prof Syed Abdul Hye claimed who heads a committee formed by the university Syndicate to deal with the sale of the trees.
The move was initiated a few months ago after five trees had been stolen in January. “And since the aging trees cause health problems, the Syndicate decided to get rid of those and tasked me to head a committee to identify the dying trees and those which may be stolen," the JU treasurer said.
A sub-committee formed later to mark the trees asked the university Estate Office to primarily identify the trees. "But without my knowledge, the staffs marked
them", he added.
The Estate Office said the trees are "dying" and "close to important structures of the university’’ but, during a visit, this correspondent found trees that include scores of small and mediocre in size which did not seem to be causing problems to any of the structures nor they did appear to be moribund at all.
“The beauty of the campus would go if they fell the trees,” said Samiul, one of the organisers of yesterday's human chain.
Rupon, a zoology honours student, said the tree felling would displace many birds from the campus as well as spoil the abode of migratory birds that come here every winter from Siberian region.
Expressing concern over the move, Abu Naser Khan, chairman of Paribesh Bachao Andolon who participated in the human chain,
told The Daily Star on the campus, “The old trees are rather very important for bio-diversity as many kinds of birds live on them. There is no other place where such large number of species of birds can be found.”
Eminent bird expert Inam-ul Haq who also joined the human chain said felling the trees would damage the ecosystem adding, “These trees are not very old at all. I don't understand how these trees can do any harm?”
“There are many trees on Rangpur Carmichael College campus which are more than hundred years old. If those trees do not do any harm, how can these trees which are not more than 30-35 years, can be harmful?" Sufi Mustafizur Rahman, a professor of archaeology at the varsity, exclaimed.