Sifayet Ullah

The number of date palm trees fell to 2,270 from 3,719 in Chattogram’s coastal areas in the last 10 years -- a decline of 39 percent, according to data obtained from the forest department.

The Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) is going to set up a tourist zone in a 5km area of Karnaphuli riverbank in the Bakalia area of the port city, with an aim to develop Chattogram as a tourist city.

Around 21,000 smart driving licences are lying at the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority’s (BRTA) Chattogram office, as the clients have not collected them, claimed officials.

The government enacted the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Act in 2018 and asked the authorities concerned to build a Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) within 3 years for the safe disposal of hazardous waste.

The coastal forest department of Chattogram has proposed to establish a special biodiversity area on 6,507 acres of forest land at Sitakunda’s Guliakhali area to save hundreds of species of wildlife and birds.

A pond near the Jan Ali Hat Railway Station in the port city’s Chandgaon area has been turned into a dumping zone. Consequently, it has also become a safe breeding zone for mosquitoes.

The elevated expressway project in Chattogram is being delayed as Bangladesh Railway has not yet allotted the required land for the project, resulting in city dwellers suffering.

The newly-elected Chattogram zilla parishad chairman has set up a brick-making factory right beside a protected forest in the district’s Fatikchhari upazila. The factory is operating without any clearance from the Department of Environment (DoE).

One of the main housing projects undertaken by the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) in 2017 was the Ananya Residential Area (Second Phase) project.

Due to illegal grabbing and inaction of the concerned authorities, Jolkodor canal in Chattogram’s Banskhali upazila has reduced to be a 30 feet wide stream from its previous width of 150 feet.

Despite the government’s priority programme to make the best use of every inch of available cultivable land, more than 15 thousand hectares of arable land in Chattogram remain uncultivated.

The cable car service in Sheikh Russel Aviary and Eco Park in the port city’s Rangunia upazila has remained closed since September 2021. The authorities have been working to restart its operations but no progress has been made to that effect in the last year.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) plans to start the first ever ferry service between Sandwip island and Sitakunda in Chattogram.

Land grabbers, including those belonging to the influential quarters, are hatching a conspiracy to occupy three acres of land in Chattogram’s Nasirabad Social Forestry Nursery and Training Centre (SFNTC), alleged forest officials.

The Roads and Highways Department is seeking 174 acres to widen a road through the Ramgarh-Sitakunda Reserve Forest in Chattogram amid concerns of damage to the environment and violation of rules.

The long-awaited Bakalia access road, built to ease traffic and improve connectivity with south Chattogram from port city, will be opened for vehicular movements soon, said project officials.

A group of individuals has reportedly cut a hill by Chattogram city’s Sarson Road to build a road, without getting approval from the Department of Environment (DoE), much to the dismay of locals and environmentalists.

The Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) has taken an initiative to build a 5km road through the Ramu reserve forest, a move that forest officials and environmentalists say will bring disaster.

Alleging that the Awami League government has turned the country into a crematorium, the BNP has said there is no alternative to ending its rule.

To tackle erosion, the Forest Department has planted 29,000 trees on a stretch of Chattogram’s Halda riverbank -- which had been grabbed by locals -- bringing a welcome change for the region’s biodiversity.