When trees became victims of vengeance
Forty-year-old Ratna Habib, a homemaker from Savar’s Dagormora area, enjoys gardening as a hobby. Her husband Ahsan Habib, a retired bank officer, bought a flat on the sixth floor of an eight-storied building in the area two years ago.
Ratna and her family set up a small garden on the building’s rooftop before Eid-ul-Azha this year. There were about 32 pots where fruits, vegetables and medicinal trees had been planted.
However, owners of another flat on the same floor complained about the garden multiple times over phone. During the past weeks, Khaleda Akter Lucky, 45, and their two sons had created pressure on Ratna’s family to remove the trees, claimed Ratna’s daughter Sumaiya Habib.
On Tuesday around 5pm, Khaleda and her son, along with 10-12 local youths went to the rooftop and engaged in an argument with Ratna and her family. At one point, Khaleda started to cut down the trees using a machete.
Sumaiya captured the incident on her phone camera and posted it on Facebook, which went viral soon.
After seeing the video, a team from Savar Model Police Station visited the spot and detained Khaleda for questioning yesterday morning.
Sumaiya, a second-year student at a university in Dhaka, said, “I can’t imagine how someone could damage a beautiful garden. Some of the fruits and vegetables were almost ready for harvesting.”
“I want justice for this incident,” she added.
Meanwhile, Khaleda’s family members have gone into hiding since the police visit. Before being taken to the police station, Khaleda told reporters, “I cut down the trees as they [Ratna and family] cursed my son when we asked them to remove the trees before.”
She added that she now understands that she “should not have chopped down the trees.”
Ahsan Habib lodged a case in this regard with Savar Model Police Station yesterday, and Khaleda was arrested.
Meanwhile, environmental activists visited the spot and condemned the incident. Green Savers Association handed over ten saplings for plantation to Ratna.
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