Authorities must protect reserve forests from illegal grabbers
The reserve forest in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka upazila is now almost half its original size, due to the deforestation and encroachments for over three decades. Bhaluka, once known for its vast tract of natural forest and wildlife, has now shrunk significantly as people have been living illegally in these reserved government lands. The reserves cover 71,088 acres of land, 30,524 of which have been illegally taken in the last three decades, according to sources at the divisional forest office.
The department has already increased vigilance in the area. Cases have also been filed against the plunderers. More than 20 reports were filed against influential persons in March this year for cutting down and setting fire to forest trees in the reserved areas in Bhaluka and Uthora Ranges. In 2010, the government declared 80.5 acres of land in Kadirgrah and Palgaon areas as a national park to protect its trees and wildlife. However, the reserves are not safe anymore due to encroachments.
The local influential people have been colluding with corrupt officials in various ways to carry out these illegal works. Opting for a slash-and-burn farming technique, they first chop down the trees and later burn them. With no trace left of the land once being a part of the forest, the lands are first claimed as personal property through false documentation and later sold to the elite at a high price. There are over 50 sawmills around the forest reserves in Kadirgrah, Kachina, Batajoor, Palgaon, Tamat and Dhakuria villages where stolen trees are processed, said a local preferring anonymity.
Environmentalists said the encroachers are not just destroying the forest trees and grabbing the reserve lands illegally, they are also burning them, which is causing harm to the area’s ecology while compelling animals to leave the sanctuary by taking away their natural habitat and food.
Continued deforestation will lead to an increase in pollution — making these areas more prone to earthquakes, while endangering the area’s natural biodiversity. The forest tracts in Tangail, Mymensingh, and Gazipur used to be a sanctuary for animals and plants. None is safe in this lawlessness and virtually nobody is there to protect nature.
