2024-05-13 15:55:23
Opposition Leader and Jatiya Party Chairman Gholam Mohammad Quader has expressed anger over the decision of the Forest Department to cut 4 lakh trees in the name of Teesta Irrigation Project development.
In a statement on Sunday (May 12), Golam Mohammad Quader demanded reforestation by stopping the cutting of trees.
He said that the country is now becoming uninhabitable due to climate change. In such a reality, the decision to cut trees is suicidal and unforgivable.
Golam Mohammad Quader said that according to media reports, the forest department is cutting 4 lakh trees in the name of renovation and expansion of tertiary and secondary canals including the main canal of the Teesta irrigation project. Already, at least 20 trees have been cut in Chander Hat Bahalipara area of Nilphamari Sadar of the canal in Dinajpur. Trees have been cut in that area before but no reforestation has been done. Due to its adverse effects, most of the Teesta is going to become a desert. Again, 50 percent trees have already been cut in the project area of Nilphamari Sadar and Dimla Upazila.
He also said that environmental protection issues are included in the normal rules in project formulation and implementation. However, it is difficult to understand why the destruction of such a large number of trees became inevitable in the implementation of the project. According to critics, it is necessary to investigate whether the purpose of taking up such projects is to gain more profit by cutting and selling surplus trees to earn money through corruption during the implementation of the project. Due to the lack of trees, the natural environment of the country has deteriorated. So the decision to cut trees should be withdrawn.
He advised the concerned to look into whose interest suicidal decisions are being taken against the country and the environment.