Trees felled by a band of locals, reportedly backed by a lawmaker, to construct a road inside a mangrove forest of Char Kumkumari, Bhola. The photo was taken Friday afternoon.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday prohibited felling of trees of a reserve forest in Kukri Mukri in Bhola for the construction of a road as it stayed the project for four weeks.
Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain stayed for four weeks a June 8 High Court verdict that permitted the government to construct the road on certain conditions.
The judge passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela) seeking a stay on the HC verdict.
The petition also prayed for upholding a HC order that directed the authorities not to construct any road through the forest.
Barrister Fida M kamal and Iqbal Kabir Liton moved the petition on behalf of Bela.
Within hours after a court judgement that clearly directed the authorities to abide by the forest and environment acts, groups of people have chopped down the trees in the reserve forest.
The lawmaker of Bhola 4 (Charfassion) Abdullah Al Islam alias Jacob and his local supporters backed chopping down of the mangrove forest for building the 2.5-kilometres long road without any environmental clearance or permission from the forest department as required by the law of the land.
The forest department has vehemently objected to the project and suggested at least two alternatives for building the road, bypassing the forest area. The local Union Parishad planned to link two villages Babugonj and Patila, through the proposed road.
The hurried felling of the trees has also defied the law that says the sale of the trees must be completed after floating a tender in the media.
The 20,000-acre (about the size of 18,200 football fields) man-made mangrove forest is one of the prides of the forest department. Forest officials said that if the road is built, illegal logging and poaching would increase overnight. The wildlife would face severe threat and most importantly, the bio diversity of the area would be at stake.
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