Hills and hillocks are the natural bastion for protecting ecology and biodiversity. But hills have become the victims of human greed in Bangladesh since long. We are oblivious of the fact that if nature is wrongfully hit, the vengeance of nature will follow disastrously.
A local English daily published a report on Sunday on the perilous razing of hills in Sylhet. According to the report, illegal hill cutting is going on unabated in various places of Sylhet district as the authorities, as though, maintain an attitude of nonchalance to the offence perpetrated endangering both ecology and biodiversity in the areas.
There is literally none to prevent the elements, who are known to be influential quarters indulging in unauthorised hill cutting as they have little respect for law. Even excavators are being used at places to raze hills while manual cutting is going is on elsewhere.
It is a big surprise to see that wholesale hill cutting is going on in more than ten places across the district under the very nose of the authorities concerned. Hill cutting is also continuing in some tea garden areas. Tea gardens are owned by government and leased to tea planters on long term. Environment officials in a recent drive issued show cause notice on five individuals for hill cutting in Tilagaon area near Shahjalal University Campus. What we want to see is that the offenders are rigorously punished without impunity.
Every year many people perish in landslide due to hill
cutting. But the non-stop hill cutting goes on
without let up and the authorities concerned
seem to act as merely onlookers
After cutting land on foothills, landslide takes place easily on slopes during monsoon. The hill cutters then sell the soil while they get the land levelled. Poor people living at the hill slopes are exposed to grave risk of life. Many people purchased land at the hill slopes at cheaper price and built houses for living there although they know that it is risky venture. The authorities have no monitoring or supervision on such habitation. About 20 to 30 per cent of 1,875 hillocks in Sylhet division have already been razed in recent years. Illegal hill cutting is still continuing in an uncontrolled way in different upazilas including Sylhet Sadar, Golapganj, Beanibazar and Fenchuganj.
Every year many people perish in landslide due to hill cutting. But the non-stop hill cutting goes on without let up and the authorities concerned seem to act as merely onlookers. Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) also expressed grave concern at the ever-growing trend of hill cutting in Sylhet region, but their anxiety falls on deaf ears.
According to Environment Director, Sylhet Divisional office, they are trying to the best of their capability to stop such illegal activities, but to no avail. The environment officials move to places, on information of hill cutting any time and take action. They move even at night, still it is hard to stop the offence fully, they say.
They also underscore the mass awareness in this regard. However, this is something like lame expostulation when they say about mass awareness which is of no use. We are sick of telling about mass awareness off and on. What is needed is the extreme measures against hill cutting which must stop once for all.
