Trees will be planted on every road and footpath in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) area, DNCC mayor Md Atiqul Islam has said.

He said this on 6 June while inaugurating a programme to plant two lakh trees in the DNCC area, on Mayor Anisul Huq Road in Tejgaon in the capital.

At the start of the event the mayor opened the tree-planting drive by planting saplings with guests including architect Iqbal Habib, Green Savers chief executive Ahsan Rony, Chief Conservator of Forests at the Forest Department Md Amir Hossain Chowdhury, and Akhtar Hamid.

Speaking to journalists afterwards, the mayor said: "Trees will be planted on every road and footpath in the DNCC area. We don't want to leave any space empty. On footpaths we will plant chhatim, bakul, kathbadam, krishnachura and sonalu; on road medians kanta mehedi, rangan, karabi, bougainvillea, dwarf jarul and roskau. Along our canals we will plant different fruit trees, mango, jam, jackfruit, and medicinal trees."

"There are no birds in the city. We are planting roskau after discussion with the Forest Department. Birds love the roskau fruit. Trees will be planted with three considerations in mind: cleaning, greening and feeding."

He said the planting had begun under the slogan "Sobuje bas, baro mas" (living in green, all year round). He urged city dwellers to plant trees in empty spaces in front of their homes, and called on RAJUK to implement at once a rule of at least one tree for every katha of land at each house.

"Planting trees is easy, but keeping them alive is very hard. Tending them is very hard," he said. So, for the first time, DNCC will recruit 100 gardeners to look after the trees. Each will be responsible for one kilometre and will report on every tree within it. The corporation has made a GIS map that will be used to choose sites and monitor the trees.

The mayor said chhatim trees would be planted in holes punched in the footpaths to give shade, bakul for the scent of their flowers, kathbadam, and krishnachura where there is more room. The corporation's environment department is being strengthened to look after the trees, and the allocation for tree planting will be raised in the next budget.

He said chhatim, bakul and kathbadam had been planted at the site that day, adding "Inshallah, our future generations will benefit." The care of the trees to be planted from Satrasta to the Railgate will rest with everyone in the area, led by the local councillor and including the president and general secretary of the truck workers' and owners' association.

He said the corporation was not choosing trees at will: each species was selected on the advice of the Forest Department, environmentalists and urban planners. The trees would reduce air pollution and extreme heat, conserve biodiversity, prevent soil erosion, give shade and bring economic benefits, and above all would greatly ease the black carbon smoke that has spread because of climate change.

Answering a question, the mayor said his message on trees was clear: there would be no leniency for cutting them, and he had ordered development work to be done without felling existing roadside trees. He had learned that a dishonest contractor cut down several trees while building a road divider at the Technical crossing in Mirpur. Because the contractor defied the city corporation's instructions, he has been blacklisted by DNCC, and two engineers involved in the project have been suspended. "This is a strict message to all contractors and everyone involved in projects. No development by cutting trees."

Finally, the mayor asked residents not to break the tops off the new trees. "Just as raising a child needs everyone's help, I want city dwellers' help to look after these trees." He wants councillors to compete over tree care: the ward that keeps the most trees alive will get an award. The corporation will plant trees in front of offices, universities, hospitals, schools and clinics, and asked them to look after the trees.

Also present were DNCC chief executive officer Md Selim Reza, chief health officer Brigadier General Md Zobaidur Rahman, chief engineer Brigadier General Md Amirul Islam, chief waste management officer S M Sharif-ul Islam and R S M Monirul Islam, conservator of forests for the Dhaka social forestry zone, among others.

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