Destruction of nature must stop

A memorandum, signed by 37 notable individuals was delivered yesterday to the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), condemning the felling of trees along Saat Masjid Road.

They demanded that the tree felling be stopped and local trees be planted on the streets again. The memorandum was received by APS to Mayor Nasirul Hasan Shojib, who assured that it will be submitted to the mayor.

Chief Executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) Syeda Rizwana Hasan, social activist Shireen Huq, activist and researcher Pavel Partha, Coordinator of Saat Masjid Road Tree Protection Movement Amirul Rajiv and others submitted the memorandum to the mayor's office.

Earlier, activists and environmentalists held a press conference at Jatiya Press Club in this regard.

During the press conference, Sultana Kamal, president of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (Bapa), pointed out that since the 1960s, the greenery in Dhaka has decreased significantly due to rapid urbanisation, which has led to adverse effects such as loud noise, air pollution and unbearable temperature.

Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of Campaign for Popular Education (Campe), emphasised the need for development plans to reflect the opinion of the people. She also said the destruction of nature in the name of development must be resisted.

Syeda Rizwana emphasised the importance of trees in protecting the capital. She also criticised the city administration for ignoring the opinions of residents and not adopting Singapore's environmental conservation model.

Cultural personality Mamunur Rashid highlighted the dire consequences of environmental disasters if trees are uprooted and expressed concern regarding the narrow cultural outlook of political fronts, which leads to deforestation and the filling up of wetlands.

The signatories of the memorandum include -- Sultana Kamal; Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori; Rasheda K Choudhury; Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh; Shamsul Huda, executive director of Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD); Zakir Hossain, chief executive of Nagorik Uddyog; Shireen Huq; Prof Gitiara Nasreen of Dhaka University's journalism and mass communication department; Syeda Rizwana Hasan; Mamunur Rashid; Sharmeen Murshid, chief executive officer of Brotee; Sharif Jamil, general secretary of Bapa; and urban planner Adil Mohammed Khan.