As if trees don’t matter

In a naked attack on the environment, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) have cut down around 1,700 trees to construct the connecting road of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Tunnel in Chattogram.

The trees -- around 1,400 of them rain trees -- lined up both sides of the road stretching from Anwara upazila's Choumuhoni area to Shikalbaha of Karnaphuli upazila.

The 11.05-kilometre connecting road is to be constructed at an estimated cost of Tk 267 crore, said RHD executive engineer in Chattogram Suman Singha.

Locals and environmentalists said the trees protected the road from erosion, maintained the area's ecological balance, and also contributed to enhancing its natural beauty.

Rafiqul Islam, an RHD official in Chattogram, told this correspondent that they have cut down the trees for the sake of the government's development project.

Asked, he claimed that RHD did not need to take permission from the Forest Department to cut down the trees, though they have informed the department of the matter.

However, Md Shafiqul Islam, divisional officer of the Forest Department's Chattogram South Zone, differed with the RHD official's claim.

"Permission from the Forest Department is mandatory for cutting trees," said Shafiqul.

He also said he did not know about felling such a large number of trees in the area. He warned of legal action against the RHD if they cut down trees without permission in this way.

Contacted, Anwara Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Shekh Jobaer Ahmed also said he knew nothing about the incident.

Meanwhile, Farhana Rumzum Bhuiyan, assistant professor of the Department of Botany of Chittagong University, said the tree-felling could upset the eco-system and biodiversity of the area, endangering habitats of many animals.

Construction of the country's first underwater expressway tunnel began in 2019. The tunnel goes under the Karnaphuli River at the Naval Academy point in the port city's Patenga to connect to Anwara upazila on the other side.

The tunnel's total length will be around 9.3 kilometres.

Construction works for it are underway in full swing, with a target to complete the project by December 2022.

ANOTHER 1,000 MARKED FOR FELLING

The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) recently marked over thousand trees to chop down in Chattogram to facilitate a road development project.

The trees stand on both sides of the road stretching from Patiya upazila's Badamtol to Karnaphuli upazila's Crossing.

Contacted, RHD's Rafiqul Islam said "We have recently marked 1,084 different trees -- most of them rain trees -- to be felled for the development of this road."

Contacted, Dr Tarit Kumar Baul, associate professor of Chattogram University's Forestry and Environmental Sciences Department, said, "These trees act as a carbon sink for the area. They can also mitigate dust in the area's air."

"If such a huge amount of trees are cut down, the biodiversity of the area will be severely affected," he said.

Contacted, RHD executive engineer in Chattogram's Dohazari area Suman Singha said, "Under the Periodic Maintenance Programme (PMP) we are enhancing Badamtol to Crossing, which is around 6.5 kilometres, at an estimated cost of Tk 35 crores."

"We have to cut the trees down for the development of the road", he said.