Deforestation in the name of road renovation

Around  203 trees including big raintree trees are being cut down on Kushtia Hospital road for renovation. Kushtia Municipality planted these trees under social forestry 17 years ago. A former BCL leader has bought these 203 oxygen stocks through a tender for only Tk 1.81 lakh. He has already cut down most of the trees. Environmentalists and civil society representatives have demanded road renovation, leaving the trees as shade. The road is less than 1 km from the city's Saddam Bazaar to the hospital junction. Former president of Kushtia Sadar Thana Chhatra League Wahid Murad has got permission to cut down the trees next to it through tender. He is currently a member of Haripur Union Awami League. Wahid Murad said, “there is no work in Corona so I took part in this tender. For the first time, three people took part in the tender on March 22. Although I was the highest bidder there, the government could not give me the trees as the price was three thousand taka less than the price fixed by the government.” He said the official price of the tender was Tk 1.56 lakh. In the next phase, he got the trees in the tender on April 8 for 1 lakh 61 thousand taka. Wahid Murad said the municipality had given him one month time to cut down the trees. He has been cutting down trees since April 18. Eight trees have been cut down till noon on April 19. Murad said that according to the terms of the tender, the roots of all the trees have to be removed. There will be quite a cost. Moreover, with VAT tax, his cost is 1 lakh 65 thousand 600 taka. So he thinks that selling wood and chalk of these trees will not make much profit. Wahid Murad said that he saw the advertisement in a local newspaper and participated in the tender in a systematic manner. 

Meanwhile, Rafiqul Alam Tuku, president of Kushtia Aware Citizens Committee, said that the price of 203 big trees was not less than Tk 10 lakh under any circumstances. He expressed doubts about the tender process. Rafiqul Alam said, the trees need to be left for the environment-nature. These trees have shaded that road. It was not right to decide to sell such a valuable tree for such a small amount of money. Kushtia Islamic University, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor. Sarwar Murshed Ratan said that human oppression against nature has increased. Nature is also taking revenge. Coronavirus is a proof of that. He said that the decision to cut down these trees was not a sign of responsibility. The road should be renovation by keeping these trees in Kushtia, he said. Talking to environmentalist Khalilur Rahman Mazur. “We can’t protest in the lockdown,” he said. He doubts that this is the reason why this time has been chosen. Khalilur Maju said there are not many trees on the side of the road in Kushtia. He urged to leave the trees on this road. He said that there are jute shops next to them and they can break them and pave the road. Rabiul Islam, chief engineer of Kushtia municipality, said it was not possible to repair the road with trees. The road is important for the transportation of patients to the hospital. The road will be repaired first after the trees are cut down. Its trenches will be closed and carpeted. Then the municipality is thinking of widening the road. Engineer Rabiul Islam said that the work will be done in March next year. At that time, new trees will be planted on this road for the municipality. Then fruit and flower trees will be planted.