Police apprehended a man suspected of chopping down approximately 50 Bakul trees positioned on the central reservation of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Cumilla’s Sadar Dakshin upazila. Md Azmir Hossain, aged 37, was taken into custody last night in the Beltoli area after a complaint was lodged by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), as stated by Mohammad Selim, the officer-in-charge of Cumilla Sadar Dakshin Model Police Station. Azmir is scheduled to appear in court today.
A resident of Sawratoli village, Azmir operates a tea stall near the entrance of Beltoli 100-Bed Children’s Hospital. In response to inquiries about the Bakul trees’ removal from the road divider, Azmir informed The Daily Star that the trees held no value, mentioning that some trees had to be removed during soil leveling, with locals cutting down others.
Following media coverage of the incident, widespread condemnation ensued. RHD’s work assistant Ruhul Amin lodged a complaint with Cumilla Sadar Dakshin Police Station last night. Khondaker Golam Mostafa, the executive engineer at Cumilla RHD, verified the complaint and assured that new trees would be planted in place of the felled ones.
The Bakul trees, part of a 2016 beautification initiative, were more than nine years old. “We reported the incident last night and subsequently carried out a raid to detain Azmir Hossain,” OC Selim informed The Daily Star this morning.
Furthermore, RHD Executive Engineer Golam Mostafa disclosed that a significant portion of the 192km highway stretch from Daudkandi to Chattogram City Gate, spanning 143km, had been adorned with over 50,000 flowering trees like Bakul, Kanchan, Korobi, Gandharaj, Kurchi, Radhachura, Haimonti, Togor, Sonalu, Krishnachura, Kadam, and Palash. Additionally, 40,000 other trees, including olive, arjun, jackfruit, mahogany, sissoo, akashmoni, neem, acacia, and haritaki, had been planted along roadsides and dividers. Beltoli was specifically recognized for its Bakul trees.