An elderly couple's lonely battle to save Dhaka's trees
Most tree plantation projects in Dhaka covered the cost of planting, not watering. A former UN official and his former journalist wife have taken up the considerable task of nurturing trees in Dhanmondi, Manik Miah Avenue, Uttara and Purbachal
A tall, handsome gray-haired man was carrying a bucket full of water and watering saplings at a park in Dhaka. Possibly in his mid-60s, he was wearing a plain T-shirt that was slightly sweat stained.
His appearance was in sharp contrast to regular gardeners in identical vests. But he didn't seem to care about the onlookers. Perhaps it was the man's dedication to the plants that made him stand out.
That is why, actor Mir Sabbir, while jogging that morning, filmed the moment, talked to the man, and posted the video on his verified social media page on 25 December 2022.
In a little less than a month, the particular video was viewed 144k times and generated more than 10k positive reactions and 500 comments.
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"Salute this man", "This type of good personality is rare in this present world" and "This man is inspirational" were among the most common comments.
Recently, The Business Standard reached out to the man in the viral video. He is Dr Nawshad Ahmed – an economist who previously worked as part of the Unicef's international staff.
"My wife [Rowshan Jahan - a former journalist who worked at Dhaka-based English newspapers] and I have been planting trees around open spaces in Dhaka for the last decade. We once noticed that less than one-fourth of planted saplings in the city die from lack of water. So, I took on the responsibility to water the trees," explained Nawshad.
The duo has planted different types of trees around Dhanmondi Lake park, Manik Miah Avenue medians, Uttara and Purbachal in Dhaka.
In all the places the couple has planted trees, sourcing water from conventional pipelines has proved to be a big challenge. For example, there are public toilets at Dhanmondi Lake park but the park guards don't allow Nawshad to collect water from the bathrooms for the trees.
"So, I collect the water from the lake and carry the bucket myself while watering the trees. It is indeed a hard task for a person of my age [he is in fact in his mid-60's]. Many relatives have warned me. But I take this as physical exercise that helps me prevent diseases," explained Nawshad.
Except for monsoon, Nawshad waters the park trees once a week and spends two days weekly to take care of the plants. Sometimes he loosens the compact soil around the saplings so they stay hydrated a bit longer.
The retired United Nations agency official spends the rest of a week writing columns for newspapers as well as consulting for development organisations.
As a child of a civil service officer, Nawshad spent his childhood in different districts. The old government staff quarters had a large courtyard where vegetables would grow. It was in those courtyards where Nawshad discovered his love for plants.
"I used to collect seeds of different vegetables. I planted them in the courtyard. When the buds emerged, I felt overwhelmed," Nawshad recalled.
His wife Rowshan too is a tree lover.
A decade ago, the couple felt the necessity for massive tree plantation around Dhaka city, which had fallen prey to relentless and aggressive urbanisation, resulting in a detrimental loss of greenery.
With the help of some nursery workers, they first planted around 300 saplings at Dhanmondi Lake park, close to their house.
During Nawshad's service in Sudan and Nigeria, Rowshan continued with the tree plantation. But she was active in journalism at the time and couldn't keep up with watering the park trees.
In 2018, Nawshad opted for early retirement from the UN job. The couple felt their physical labour and money had gone to waste as many of the trees they had planted at the park and road medians died from lack of water.
Only 50 out of 350 annually planted saplings survived.
"It was then that we decided to water the trees at our own cost, because watering is crucial for saplings and young trees until their roots grow deep into the soil," Nawshad explained.
Nawshad further raised the issue with concerned authorities, including local ward councillors, several times. It turned out that most tree plantation projects covered the cost of planting, not watering.
Before Mir Sabbir's video on Nawshad went viral, few people showed enthusiasm towards Nawshad's activism.
"Interestingly, two tree lovers called me over the phone after the video had gone viral. For the last couple of weeks, they have been accompanying me in watering the park trees," said Nawshad, beaming with joy.
