Roadside trees felled allegedly by UP chairman seized
The upazila administration of Pirgachha under the district has seized huge logs of illegally felled trees from a saw mill at Pawtana Bazar in the upazila.
A member of Chawla union parishad (UP) in collaboration with the UP chairman allegedly sold at least 150 roadside trees at Char Gabura in Pirgachha upazila recently to Mokbul Hossain, owner of the said saw mill.
The day after the seizure of the tress on September 5, Bokul Miah, sub-assistant land officer of Chawla union, lodged a case against Rashid Sarker, the UP member, and three other locals -- Jalal Uddin, Kalam Miah and Nur-un-Nabi, in connection with the tree felling.
"Chawla UP Chairman Nazir Hossain and member Abdur Rashid Sarker gave me offer to buy 200 eucalyptus trees beside a Char Gabura road belonging to the UP but I later rejected the offer as they failed to show me any official order for felling the trees," Hazrat Ali, a wood trader at Pawtana Bazar, said.
"Later, they sold the trees to timber trader Mokbul Hossain, who has a saw mill beside the UP chairman's house. Consequently, Jalal Uddin, Kalam Miah, Nur-un-Nabi and some other unidentified people felled at least 150 trees on August 30. The logs were kept at Mokbul's saw mill.
"After knowing the matter, I informed Mosharraf Hossain, a local elite at Pawtana Bazar. Later Mosharraf and I lodged a complaint with Rangpur Deputy Commissioner BM Enamul Hoque against the chairman and the UP member about felling of the trees.
Asked by the DC on September 5, Pirgachha Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Debmoy Dewan with the help of police seized the logs from the saw mill and brought it to the compound of his office.
"I asked the sub-assistant land officer of Chawla union to lodge the case against those who felled the trees without any authorisation," the UNO said.
Meanwhile, the two complainants and a number of locals expressed their dissatisfaction, as no case was lodged against the UP chairman who allegedly instructed Rashid Sarker and other accused to fell the trees.
Asked about the matter, officer-in-charge of Pirgachha police station Aslam Iqbal said, "If the UP chairman is found involved with the crime after investigation, his name will be included in the case."
Denying his involvement in the unauthorised felling of the trees, UP Chairman Nazir Hossain said, “I went to Kurigram on the day the trees were cut down. On information I sent village police there."
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