SA Shofiee :
A part of Hakaluki haor, one of the largest water bodies of our country, is in Sylhet district while another part is situated in Moulvibazar district. Hakaluki Haor is one of the four main habitats of ‘Mother Fisheries’ of Bangladesh. Apart from this, there are several places in the heart of this haor including the aquatic plants Hijal, Karach and Varun forest. It is also home to a variety of wild animals. However, due to the greed of some local beneficiaries, the biodiversity of the forest in Haor is increasingly under threat. Locals have already cut down the trees of a part of the forest, are planting mustard. Apart from this, lack of proper planning and free roaming of cows and buffaloes is also one of the reasons for destroying the biodiversity of Haor.
According to the sources of the Forest Department and the Fisheries Office, Hakaluki Haore has a mountain stream from upstream every year due to geographical reasons. Hakaluki Haor is flooded by the downslope of Meghalaya Hills, Assam and Manipur Hills and Tripura and Mizoram Hills in India. Meanwhile, 276 small, medium and large bils filled with water and turned into a huge body of water.
At that time the area of Hakaluki haor stands at about 18115 ha, and during the dry season (when the water dries up) the area of the bill alone is about 4925 ha. Hakaluki Haor is spread across Baralekha (40pc), Kulaura and Juri (30pc) of Moulvibazar district and Fenchuganj (15pc), Golapganj (10pc) and Biyanibazar (5pc) of Sylhet district.
About 1 lakh 9 thousand people live around this haor area. The fisheries of Hakaluki Haore are very rich. Hakaluki haor is one of the four main ‘Mother Fisheries’ of Bangladesh said that this forest is being destroyed in various ways. The big trees of the forest are being cut down and used for other purposes including fuel. But no one from the forest department looks after it. And even if he sees it, he does not say anything. They said that miscreants have already cut down 20-25 acres of forest. Even the roots of the trees were uprooted. Mustard seeds have been planted in some vacant areas.
Forest guards Matab Uddin and Makhles Ali said that the miscreants threatened them in various ways if they obstructed them while cutting trees. However, since the police went there, tree cutting has been stopped for the time being. When asked where the cut trees were going, they said miscreants and some local people cut the trees and took them away for use as fuel.
Meanwhile, the local people of Haorpar said that the forest plants prevent the waves of the Haor during the monsoon, thereby saving the houses and roads along the banks.