<\/a>Rampant deforestation on the coastal green belt at Sonaichhari union of Chittagong’s Sitakunda upazila for establishing ship breaking yards is causing the breakdown of
\nthe union’s embankment.
\nSubsequently seawater from the Bay of Bengal is inundating the adjoining villages at every high tide, causing immense suffering to the residents.
\nNityananda Jaladas, resident of one of the villages, Ghoramara, said the whole coastal area was a big government forest just three to four years\u00a0ago.
\n\u201cWith the trees available, the embankment had not collapsed. But nowadays, since there is no tree, the embankment is breaking down everyday,\u201d he said, adding, \u201cDuring
\nhigh tide, seawater floods our houses, damaging our belongings.\u201d
\nBangladesh Forest Department started afforestation of mangrove species in Sonaichhari from 1976 to develop a coastal green belt. From 1989 onwards, the department
\nplanted Kewra trees on 125 acres of coastal land, said sources.
\nBut after 2007, Chittagong District Administration and the assistant commissioner (land) leased out land, assigned for the coastal green belt, for the establishment of
\nship breaking yards.
\nSince then, rampant tree felling went on in the area.
\nOn July 3, 2009, some 15,000 mangrove trees were felled under the instruction of some influential quarters who wanted to set up at least four ship yards. On November
\n29 that year, another 5,000 trees were chopped down, said locals.
\nOn a visit to Ghoramara, this correspondent found the embankment in a dilapidated condition, with its bricks, boulders and stones coming loose and scattered around.
\nOnly 10 Kewra trees were seen standing and the locals feared those could be felled anytime.
\nTwo tin-shed houses were also found with two signboards. One read \u201cSite for Nowshin Steel\u201d and the other \u201cMSS Steel Recycling\u201d. This correspondent could not trace any
\nindustry in Chittagong by the names.
\nAnother resident, Khorshed, also stated that the embankment’s destruction was being brought about by the destruction of the area’s forest.
\nHe urged the government to construct a durable embankment to save agricultural lands and houses of the area from high tide.
\nThe benefit of coastal afforestation is that the tree roots help hold the soil together, which in turn keeps coastal embankments firm, said Divisional Forest Officer
\nSunil Kumar Kundu of Coastal Forest Division, Chittagong.
\nThe plundering of the coastal forest and land grabbing, as in a domino effect, is leading to the gradual breakdown of the embankment, he added.
\nEchoing Sunil, Water Development Board Executive Engineer Swapan Kumar Barua said ship breaking yard owners, at different times, were felling trees intensively in the
\narea.
\n\u201cSaving the embankment, farmlands and coastal people’s lives from seawater requires a restriction on ship breaking activities. Coastal afforestation should be
\nimmediately started again in the area,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of The Daily Star<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rampant deforestation on the coastal green belt at Sonaichhari union of Chittagong’s Sitakunda upazila for establishing ship breaking yards is causing the breakdown of the union’s embankment. Subsequently seawater from the Bay of Bengal is inundating the adjoining villages at every high tide, causing immense suffering to the residents. Nityananda Jaladas, resident of one of … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[9328,9329,7003],"yoast_head":"\n