The 31st BCS Cadre Association has taken up a programme to plant 10,000 trees across the country marking World Environment Day. The decision was made to mark the day and the tenth anniversary of the members joining the service, said the association's president, Abdullah Al Hadi.

He said members spread across the country will plant various fruit, herbal and medicinal trees at their workplaces on World Environment Day.

The association said a country normally needs at least 25 per cent forest cover, and Bangladesh needs even more. But indiscriminate felling has pushed the country's forest cover below 10 per cent, raising concern. Lack of oxygen is increasing various diseases, rainfall is falling for want of forest, and the weather is getting hotter. It is against this background that the association took up the nationwide planting programme.

World Environment Day is being observed this year with the theme "Let us all join in solving plastic pollution" and the slogan "Let us all pledge together to end plastic pollution".

Alongside this, members of the association are dreaming of a green earth under a theme of their own urging members to green the earth. Over the past few years members have already planted many trees in their own yards, which have started bearing fruit, and tired travellers now find shade under many of them.

This year the central planting programme was inaugurated on the Planning Ministry premises in the capital.

It was inaugurated on the morning of 5 June by Satyajit Karmaker, secretary of the Planning Division and member (Programming Division) of the Planning Commission, and Abul Kashem Md Mohiuddin, secretary of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division of the Planning Ministry.

The association's leaders took part in the opening ceremony, chaired by president Abdullah Al Hadi.

Members of the association have planted 9,000 trees of various species across the country over the previous two years.

Guests at the event praised the young officers for their unusual thinking on the environment alongside their professional duties.

The organisers believe the target can be approached if everyone puts emphasis on planting trees to protect the environment from where they stand.

Abdullah Al Hadi said: "The decision to plant trees comes from a pledge to work together to protect the environment. Our colleagues across the country will plant trees at educational institutions and on their own office premises. I hope more trees will be planted than the target."

Among others present were the association's general secretary Mrityunjoy Dey Sajal, Ahsan Habib Jitu, Mosabber Rahman Shuvro, Sabuj Howlader, Kabir Jewel, Md Jahangir Alam, Sifatey Jahan, Karima Akter, Masuma Jannat, M A Bashar, Mobarak Hossain, Mehedi Masud Faisal, Nazma Parvin, Suraiya Sultana Nipu, Mahfuzul Islam, Mesbaul Hossain and Ahsan Sagar.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.