Even trees are not spared

AMONG the dreadful dimensions to the opposition's ongoing political agitation, a new phenomenon has sprung up. The incidents of felling trees to put up barricades on roads have fallen into a pattern that is extremely worrying. We are yet to understand why should trees be victimized during a political agitation?  Bangladesh's tree cover is not only a paltry 8 percent of the land area which ideally should have been 25 percent, but the cutting of trees unmasks a dreadful aberration of our political culture.
Staggeringly, some 10,042 trees were felled as the verdict of a war criminal was announced barely six months ago. And at least another 130 roadside trees were cut down by the activists of the 18-party alliance in the past ninety-six hours. We wonder what would be the measure of destruction of trees by the time the opposition ends its blockade programme!  
When political parties across the globe are embracing environmental issues on their agendas, our political activists are wreaking havoc on ecology and environment by their destructive swipes. In particular, Jamaat -Shibir elements are spearheading and inciting a tree felling orgy. Our major political parties have prioritized the environmental issues on their party manifestos. Therefore it devolves on the 18-party alliance led by BNP to direct their activists to refrain from tree cutting sprees.
Condemning this act is not enough. We want to see exemplary punishment handed to the culprits. There is no point in allowing destruction of the very means that helps us to breathe.