Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Atiqul Islam has called on everyone to plant trees to help control temperature. He made the call at a meeting at East West University on Wednesday, 14 June.

The meeting was held to mark the start of construction of a footbridge in front of East West University on the Aftabnagar–Merul main road.

The mayor said: "We have started tree planting under the slogan 'Sobuje Bas, Baro Mas' (Live in green, all year round). Trees will be planted on footpaths and road dividers across the DNCC area. We plan to plant 2 lakh trees over the next two years. We don't want to leave any space empty. On footpaths we will plant chhatim, bakul, kath badam, krishnachura and sonalu; on road medians kanta mehedi, rangan, karabi, bougainvillea, dwarf jarul and roskau. And along our canals we will plant mango, jam, jackfruit and other fruit and medicinal trees."

He said there were no birds in the city. "We are planting roskau after discussions with the Forest Department. The roskau fruit is a great favourite of birds. Trees will be planted with three things in mind: cleaning, greening and feeding."

He said trees would protect the environment and help control temperature. "To save this city, we want to plant trees on a large scale with everyone's cooperation."

After his speech, the DNCC mayor planted a tree beside the university's main gate.

The event was chaired by Prof Dr Mohammad Farasuddin, chief adviser to the board of directors of East West University. Present were the university's vice-chancellor Prof Dr M M Shahidul Hasan, chairman of the board of trustees Syed Manzur Elahi, DNCC chief engineer Brigadier General Amirul Islam, regional executive officer Kazi Ziaul Baset, ward 21 councillor Masum Gani and ward 37 councillor Md Jahangir Alam.

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