Vow to protect world’s largest mangrove forest on the Sundarban’s Day

GREEN activists under the banner of The National Committee for Saving the Sundarbans made a nine-point demand on Friday urging the government to leave the Rampal Thermal Power Plant project for the sake of world’s largest mangrove forest. Marking February 14 as the Sundarbans Day, they also demanded that the government ensure free flow of fresh and poison-free water to the rivers and canals inside the Sundarbans. Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon, Green Voice and NCSS jointly formed a human chain in front of the National Museum at Dhaka’s Shahbagh area to uphold their demands. On the other hand, residents of the coastal districts of Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat also observed the Sunderbans Day on the same day with an appeal to save the ‘world heritage site’ that hosts a complex network of tidal waterways.
The campaigners said they will strengthen the ongoing movement and raise awareness among people about the importance of protecting the Sundarbans as well as other forests. They have also urged the government to stop and shift all government and non-government projects near the Sundarbans. There is no doubt that Sundarbans is our first line of defence and it is continuously saving us from various natural disasters. The forest’s flora and fauna are unique to this region. According to an observation, it has 260 bird species, the Royal Bengal Tiger and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile, the Indian python, and the gangetic dolphins. Though the Sundarbans is considered as the lungs of country, we see no effective government measure to protect it from obvious destruction. Rather, the vast forest is being destroyed by mankind due to negative policies of the authorities concerned.
The people who are trying to destroy it must be resisted by the law. We do believe Bangladesh will survive, if the Sunderbans survives. The Sunderbans is our national treasure. We must protect it.