There is no alternative to greening if the environment is to be protected, the adverse effects of climate change tackled and a liveable city built. With that aim, Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) is implementing a programme to plant 10 lakh trees in the city, Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain has said.

The mayor inaugurated a month-long tree-care programme marking World Environment Day at the Tigerpass Binnaghas project area on Sunday 7 June. Speaking at the event, he said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has announced the planting of 25 crore trees in five years, calling it a far-sighted and timely initiative. If every citizen comes forward to plant and care for trees, a green, clean and environment-friendly Bangladesh can be built, he said.

He said that, in line with this, 10 lakh trees are being planted in the city at the initiative of the city corporation and with the help of various social organisations, to restore environmental balance. All the road islands from Kalurghat to the airport will be filled with flowers and greenery, and besides beautifying the roads, large-scale planting will be done on vacant land, parks and open spaces.

He said 6,500 saplings of 26 species are already being planted on the road islands between Dewanhat and Barik Building. They include about 10 near-extinct native species such as jarul, sonalu, radhachura, kamini, kanchan, hasnahena, gandharaj and shiuli. Arrangements are also being made to maintain the trees, including daily watering and weeding.

Calling for tree planting to become a social movement, he said people realised the importance of oxygen anew during the coronavirus pandemic. Trees supply life-saving oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, keeping the environment healthy, so tree planting must become a social movement for conservation, he said.

The mayor said trees are our greatest friends, giving oxygen, fruit, timber and medicine and playing an important role in keeping the environment in balance. "But we only know how to take from trees; we do not want to care for them," he said, stressing that regular care must go hand in hand with planting.

He said Chattogram is a city full of natural beauty, with sea, hills, rivers, canals, valleys and water bodies. "Allah has given us many resources, but if we cannot care for and conserve them properly, future generations will suffer," he said.

Urging everyone to be aware of the need to protect the Karnaphuli and Halda rivers and the city's canals and water bodies, he said plastic, polythene and other waste thrown everywhere pollutes the environment and causes waterlogging. This waste ends up in canals and rivers and poses a serious threat to the environment.

CCC's acting chief executive officer and secretary Md Ashraful Amin, the mayor's adviser on waterlogging Shahriar Khaled, slum development officer Moinul Hossain Ali Joy and deputy chief conservancy officer Pranab Kumar Sharma, among others, were present.

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