Patuakhali forest officials estimate a day after mindless destruction of mangrove forest
Forest officials yesterday visited Char Bestin in the coastal areas of Patuakhali and Bhola and found over 30,000 trees of the mangrove forest have been chopped down by around 400 locals on Thursday.
Of these trees, over 10,000 were in Patuakhali and the rest in Bhola section, said Devdas, range officer of Char Montaz.
A three-member police team from Rangabali Police Station in Galachipa upazila reached the spot around 5:00pm on Thursday. Seeing the law enforcers the locals stopped felling the trees and left the scene, he added.
The police force was not strong enough to arrest any of the offenders, Mizanur Rahman, sub-inspector of Rangabali Police Station told The Daily Star.
Patuakhali forest department filed a case with Rangabali Police Station on Friday naming nine people and another 400 unnamed people for their alleged involvement in the incident.
Among the accused are Billal Hossain alias Shishir, Sobahan Gazi, Lal Mia and Abul Kalam, all hailing from Galachipa upazila.
Range Officer (Bhola) Masud Sarder visited the spot yesterday and found the forest damaged severely.
Bhola forest department would lodge another case with magistrate’s court in this connection, added Masud.
According to the forest department, they created the mangrove forest in Char Bestin in 2001. It covers the entire char and plays a big role in protecting the coastal areas.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
