Chattogram Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia has set out to plant 100,000 trees in a single day on 27 October, across all 16 upazilas of the district at once. Alongside the planting, the administration is stressing regular care so the saplings survive, and is keeping an extra 10,000 to 20,000 saplings ready to replace weak or dead ones.
"We will not just plant these trees, we will look after them properly," the deputy commissioner said. To improve survival, larger, good-quality saplings have been sourced, and any that weaken after planting will be replaced. The goal is to keep all 100,000 alive.
The programme puts special weight on coconut palms in coastal areas. The deputy commissioner said the coast and seashore suit the growth and yield of coconuts, so there are plans to cover a large part of Sandwip with coconut palms. At a preparatory event, 2,275 coconut saplings were handed to representatives of various offices and institutions.
Fruit, timber, medicinal and ornamental saplings will be shared out according to each upazila's needs, among them mango, jackfruit, guava, amra, mahogany, garjan, amloki, haritaki, jarul and bakul. The army's 24th Infantry Division supplied 30,000 saplings, NGOs 17,000 and the Chattogram South Forest Division 10,000; the district administration will provide the rest.
The deputy commissioner said the drive is part of the government's priority programme to plant 250 million trees nationwide in five years, under which Chattogram aims to plant 15 million trees over that period. Public administration adviser Md Ismail Zabiullah is to open the programme on 27 October by planting the first sapling at the Jamiatul Falah mosque grounds. The police, the port, the airport, the zoo and the Islamic Foundation are among the offices taking part.
Reported by Banglanews24's staff correspondent in Chattogram.
Photo: Planting a sapling (illustrative), Robbieross123 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Banglanews24
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