Tree felling spree beside Barisal-Dhaka highway

Valuable trees including mahogany, rain tree, chambal and others are being felled beside the Barisal-Dhaka highway in the name of 'dressing' branches for road safety but forest and environment departments were not informed and no formal tender was called for the purpose.

Visiting several spots on Barisal-Bhurghata portion of the highway, it was found that a group of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists in presence of RHD officials were engaged in the work.

"Every year we take steps for dressing the trees by cutting their branches on 58-kilometre portion of Barisal-Dhaka highway for safety of road passengers and vehicles during stormy nor'wester season," said Khaled Shahed, executive engineer of RHD, Barisal office.

"This year's work is going on for about a month under the supervision of RHD. About a hundred logs of the cut branches are kept on the office yard. It is an emergency basis temporary work and so, forest and environment departments were not informed and no formal tender was called," he said.

However, Shakhawat Hossain, sub-assistant engineer of RHD Barisal office, said Md Tuhin, president of the city's 23 No ward unit of BCL, is engaged in the work on contact basis.

Denying involvement with looting trees, BCL leader Tuhin said, "Under the supervision of the RHD officials, I am doing the work for dressing the portions of the trees that pose risk for road transport during the stormy season. As per terms of the work, I deposited at least 50 percent of the removed tree branches to the RHD office and taking away the rest."