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Century-old trees go

Netrakona admin, forest dept defy HC order, keep plundering Birishiri greens

Our Correspondent, Netrakona
Defying a High Court order, the Netrakona Zila Parishad and the forest department continued chopping down century-old trees yesterday beside a road near the Baptist church in Birishiri.
The High Court on Tuesday directed the government to maintain status quo for 10 days on felling trees on both sides of the road between Jhanjail Bazar and Durgapur upazila in Netrakona. The order came following a writ petition filed by Liton Mrong, secre-
tary of Garo Baptist Convention, Bangladesh. The deputy commissioner of Netrakona was also one of the respondents in the writ.
The contractor for Netrakona Zila Parishad and Netrakona Forest Department stopped felling the
trees yesterday following vigorous protest and resentment from the people of Durgapur and Purbadhola upazila.
Chief Executive Officer of Netrakona Zila Parishad Aftab Ali told The Daily Star yesterday that his office did not receive any order from the High Court; therefore he could not order the workers to stop chopping down the trees. TVvo trees, each over 150 years old, were felled yesterday amid protest from locals, including the Garo community.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Quamruzzaman Mia said he could not do much because the trees belong to the zila parishad.
Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Durgapur, said he can do nothing until the aggrieved party lodges a complaint.
The Netrakona Zila Parishad and Netrakona Forest Department had decided to sell over 1,600 trees, including 200 century-old trees, in the name of developing a 37km road connecting Durgapur upazila and Shamgonj Bazar in Purbadhola upazila.
Tender were floated by the Netrakona Forest Department and Netrakona Zila Parishad on June 20 and August 24. It is alleged that 35 organisations won the tenders at throw-away prices.
Locals including the leaders of different indigenous groups expressed disapproval of felling tree felling. Swapan Hajong, leader of Hajong community, said the cutting of trees will affect the balance of the environment and natural beauty of the area, including
the Durgapur tourist spot.
Meanwhile, Liton Mrong, general secretary of Garo Baptists Convention, said 26 of the century-old trees belong to the GBC and they have been sold without informing the GBC. He termed the act of selling the trees of GBC a violation of the laws of the land.
According to Netrakona Roads and Highways Department, the government allocated Tk 27 crore for developing the road. Sub-Assistant Engineer of Netrakona RHD Sayeeduddin said the trees were sold through due tender process to make the road 5.5 metres wide from 3.7 metre.
Locals urged the government not to cut and sell the trees including the century-old trees. They said the road could be widened mostly without felling trees and in one or two places trees on one side of the road could be chopped down for widening the road.
Jalaluddin Talukder, former lawmaker from Netrakona-1 constituency, said there is no need to cut the trees to widen the road but it was done to satisfy a vested group.
Abdur Razzak, a mayoral candidate for the Durgapur municipality polls, said the area would hardly attract tourists if the century-old trees are chopped down.
Chief Executive Officer of Netrakona Zila Parishad Aftab Ali, however, said there is no way the road could be widened without cutting the trees. The Roads and Highways Department issued a letter to clear the roadside of trees, he claimed.