Editorial
Rains and mudslide in Chittagong
Stringent measures needed to save hills and forests
The disaster which took place as a result of heavy rainfall in Chittagong on Monday must be good cause for a review of why such a tragedy had to occur. The death of no fewer than a hundred persons in the landslide caused by the rains must bring home to us some rather unpalatable truths about a situation that had already been in the making. Environmentalists had long been serving warnings about an impending disaster should the destruction of forests as also a systematic slicing away of hills in the region not be stopped. Those warnings came in light of the fact that in the last thirty years as many as a hundred hills have disappeared through the predatory instincts of elements out to make quick, illegitimate money from a plundering of the environment. Where a 20-30 degree cutting of hills has long been advocated, those which have been cut in the Chittagong area have been subjected to 70-80 degrees, enough to leave conditions in a precarious state.The price we have been paying for such destruction hardly needs to be re-emphasised. And what happened on Monday was a natural corollary to the sordid activities that no one, especially the Department of Environment and the Chittaging Development Authority, was able to prevent. The department and the CDA owe the nation an explanation for their failure to follow through on the circular issued in 1982 regarding limits on the number of trees to be cut down. Making matters worse is that as recently as 2005, a similar circular was issued. No one in responsible positions in the administration appears to have seen any need to ensure an observance of the rules. Moreover, as the rampant destruction of the hills went on and with that a relentless felling of trees, leaving the soil weak and tenuous as it were, the people inhabiting these areas were not informed of the risks they faced through such activities. An absence of warning was thus a potent reason why so many lives were lost. Our heart goes out in sympathy for the victims of the tragedy. It is necessary to ensure that those who have survived the ordeal be provided with swift, adequate treatment and rehabilitated without any loss of time. Additionally, the families of those who have perished need to be compensated for their loss. That said, it now becomes necessary to frame pertinent laws, or an ordinance if necessary, to prevent the kind of wanton destruction of forests and hills that has been going on. Once that is done, the authorities will need to determine how such measures will be implemented. As for the hills that remain, all-out measures must be taken to fortify them through seeking advice of a necessarily scientific nature. Finally, the elements responsible for the causes which led to the tragedy on Monday must be ferreted out, tried swiftly and given exemplary punishment for the crime they have committed.
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