Massive teak tree stolen from Lawachara National Park
Numerous ancient and massive teak trees are reportedly being felled under the cover of darkness at Lawachara National Park, an ecologically rich and highly sensitive forest area in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar.
As valuable trees disappear from the biodiversity sanctuary one after another, concerns are growing over the impact on the park’s environment and wildlife habitats.
Md Abul Kalam, divisional forest officer (DFO) of the Sylhet Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division, said they would conduct a thorough investigation to identify those involved in timber smuggling.
He added that legal action would be taken against anyone, including Forest Department personnel, found to be involved in the illegal activities.
Local residents said an organised timber-smuggling ring has recently been felling and removing large teak trees from the deep forest and peripheral areas of the park.
Early Monday morning, a gang reportedly cut down and hauled away a large teak tree from beside the Sreemangal-Kamalganj road in the Jankichhara area of Lawachara National Park.
Locals alleged that despite surveillance and regular patrols by the Forest Department, valuable trees continue to be smuggled out of the park, raising serious questions about the effectiveness of the monitoring system.
Environmentalists and concerned residents alleged that the incidents cannot simply be attributed to negligence or a lack of vigilance. They claimed that there may be collusion between some field-level Forest Department officials, beat officers and timber smugglers.
They said the repeated incidents, despite regular patrols, raise questions about whether there is an informal arrangement between some officials and the smugglers.
Personnel involved in local wildlife conservation said Lawachara is more than just a forest; it is a vital habitat for numerous rare species, including the endangered hoolock gibbon.
They warned that the indiscriminate felling of teak and other native trees could seriously threaten the park’s biodiversity and called for greater accountability within the Forest Department.
Kazi Nazmul Haque, a range officer with the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Department, denied allegations of collusion or any arrangement with smugglers.
He said the park’s vast area and shortage of manpower sometimes allow miscreants to attempt to fell trees under the cover of darkness.
“The Forest Department conducts regular operations and takes legal action, including filing cases, whenever evidence of illegal tree felling is found,” he said.
However, locals alleged that because suspects are often listed as “unknown” in case records, the actual smugglers frequently remain beyond the reach of the law.
