Trees face the guillotine in Suhrawardy Udyan

People are protesting against the felling of trees at Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan for the implementation of a mega project. The protests are coming from students, artists, writers, architects, educators, and more. The forms of protests have so far included demonstrations, a five-point demand from youth organisation Green Voice, educational street plays about the impacts of deforestation, planting saplings where old trees have already been felled, and "naming" trees after freedom fighters to stop them being cut down. Given the lack of open spaces in the city where nature can thrive, and also the historical importance of this Udyan, these protests are justified and laudable.

We also welcome Supreme Court lawyer Manzill Murshid's move of serving three of the concerned government officials (the Liberation War Affairs Secretary, Chief Engineer at the Public Works Department, and Bangladesh's Chief of Architects) a legal notice to stop cutting down the trees at Suhrawardy Udyan. He was joined by six rights organisations and an architect who collectively served a legal notice on the government demanding it to not cut down trees and damage the environment of the Udyan.

On July 7, 2019, a writ petition had prompted the HC to direct "the government to identify and preserve all important historic places related to the country's Liberation War". This doubtlessly includes Suhrawardy Udyan, where Bangabandhu's immortal March 7, 1971 speech had taken place and where the Pakistani Army had also surrendered on December 16 of the same year. Needless to say, it is also one of the few places in the capital that is openly planned and where the public can enjoy nature.

The project (worth Tk 265.44 crore) was apparently undertaken to make Suhrawardy Udyan "greener". One cannot help but wonder how the construction of "public toilets, walkways, food courts, artificial ponds, underground parking lots, underpasses, and mosques" is supposed to enrich the area's natural environment.   While we cannot deny the need for development, it must also be sustainable and must not destroy an environment that requires preservation. We would urge all authorities concerned to immediately cease any actions that could disrupt Suhrawardy Udyan's natural environment, including the felling of age-old trees. Projects such as the "Shawdhinata Stambha Construction Project in Dhaka" must be undertaken with much forethought and heeding the advice of experts in the fields of environment, architecture, etc. Otherwise, we run the risk of developing only for the sake of developing, depriving our future generations of the green spaces they deserve and that are essential for the survival of the planet.