After Dhaka South, Dhaka North fells trees on Technical intersection

Dhaka North City has felled around 30 trees on the road dividers near Gabtali's Technical intersection in the capital amid the ongoing protest against the cutting of trees on the Sat Masjid road in Dhaka South.

Dhaka North authorities said the mayor had strictly warned contractors not to cut any tree during any development work but at least about 30 trees on 100 metres of the road divider, from the Technical intersection towards Kalyanpur, were cut a few days ago. On Tuesday, this part of the divider was found dug up. Locals said there were six big trees here.

Workers present there told The Business Standard (TBS) that the trees were about to fall on the ground due to the loosening of the soil on both sides while working on the road divider. So, some trees were cut down and some were uprooted and moved elsewhere.

However, Mujibur Rahman of the contractor firm that is working on the divider told TBS that there was only one big neem tree in this part of the divider. Many people were present when the tree was cut down. The tree started to tilt after the soil in the divider was removed. The tree was then cut down. The rest of the trees that were cut were dead trees.

Md Tauhid, a roadside sharbat seller in the area, told TBS that the air used to be a little cooler because of the shade of the trees here. That coolness is no more.

Amirul Rajib, coordinator of the Sat Masjid Road Tree Protection Movement, told TBS, "Tree cutting must be stopped in the name of road development. We demand to make development work without cutting trees."

Dhaka North City Executive Engineer (Traffic Engineering Circle) Nayeem Rayhan Khan told TBS, construction of a foot-over bridge is underway at the Technical intersection. For this reason, 300 feet of the road divider of the surrounding road is being developed. The contractor, SM Rahman International, has been given strict instructions not to cut any trees. 

He said he would inquire about tree felling.

Dhaka North Chief Engineer Brig Gen Muhammad Amirul Islam told TBS, "We heard that a big tree near the Technical intersection has been cut down. The mayor has given instructions to plant eight big trees there."

Advocate Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, told TBS, "The mayor of Dhaka North has said 'If anyone cuts a tree, I will cut off his hand'. So, North City must take action against the contractor who cut down the tree while constructing the road divider. The contractor should be punished and suspended from work. Otherwise, it will be proved what the mayor says does not match his deeds. We do not want another tree to be cut in the city for the sake of development."

Meanwhile, on Tuesday afternoon in Dhanmondi, Sat Masjid Road Tree Protection Movement organised a programme where artists protested against the indiscriminate cutting of trees and environmental destruction for the sake of nationwide development. Several popular artists participated in the protest movement with their artistic performances.

The cutting of the trees began in January 2023 as part of a developmental project of South City and local people and environmentalists protested after several trees were cut down on 30 January.

On 31 January, children, students, environmentalists, social workers, researchers, teachers and artists of the area made a human chain in protest. They demanded that saplings be planted in place of the cut trees within seven days. After that, the city corporation suspended the cutting of trees on the road dividers.

However, on the night of 1 May, city corporation workers cut the trees on the median strips of the road adjacent to the Abahani playground and took them away in a truck. Later, they stopped due to the locals' protest. After that, they cut down about 1,000 trees on the road in phases defying protests, including human chains.

They also marched towards Dhaka South City headquarters from Doyel Chattar, Dhaka University, but the police blocked them at the Bangabazar intersection.

The Dhanmondi Sat Masjid Road Tree Protection Movement Committee has continued their protest.