It is very worrying that the cutting of the red hillocks in Tangail continues unabated. With the help of people with political influence, soil traders are allegedly cutting and levelling the hills every day. Environmentalists have blamed negligence on the part of the local administration and the Department of Environment (DoE) for this destruction.
We do not know why the relevant authorities are failing to preserve the country’s natural land topography. The government’s attitude towards our environment is really distressing. The authorities concerned have mentioned the increasing demands of soil in various development projects as the cause of this illegal hill cutting. They blamed their dearth of human resources and the political influences of the offenders for their inability to act against them.
Hillocks are being cut by excavators both from government and private land in different places of Madhupur, Ghatail, Sakhipur, Mirzapur and Kalihati upazilas of the district. The earth extracted from the hillocks is being used at brick kilns and for filling lowlands and making roads, including the expansion of the Elenga-Jamalpur Highway.
Local administration from time to time conducts drives and slaps punishment. The drive momentarily stopped them from cutting the hillocks but they came back again. Many carry out these activities during nighttime to avoid getting caught. The authorities must stop hillock razing by arresting the main offenders. Even the few hillocks that are still intact will not be spared if such an attitude prevails.
We expect the Department of Environment will be able to protect our little natural assets. When impacts of climate change are devastating us as a nation, such negligence towards the environment can never be acceptable.
DoE must protect our all natural assets
