'Stop commercial cultivation at Madhupur Sal Forest'

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) yesterday served a legal notice asking the government to stop commercial cultivation of banana and pineapple on the land of Madhupur Sal Forest, including Aronkhola range, and restore the natural forest in occupied areas at Madhupur National Garden.
In the notice, Bela said that an influential quarter have felled hundreds of Sal trees on 250 acres of Aronkhola range in the last one year, and at present Sal tress on three square kilometers area of Magontinagar village of Aronkhola union are being felled overnight in order to create commercial fruit gardens.
Secretaries to the ministries of environment and land, chief conservator of the department of forest, director general of directorate of environment, deputy commissioner of Tangail, assistant commissioner (revenue), assistant commissioner (land), divisional forest officer, Upazila Nirbahi Officer and Upazila chairman of Madhupur have been made respondents in the legal notice.