The environmental organisation Green Voice held a rally to mark "Natural Oxygen Protection Day 2025". About 300 students from at least 20 educational institutions in Dhaka took part.

The rally and gathering were held on Wednesday (7 May) in front of the Raju Sculpture at Dhaka University, where Green Voice set out five demands.

The gathering was moderated by Green Voice co-coordinator Ariful Rahman and chaired by the organisation's chief coordinator Md Alamgir Kabir. Ruhin Hossain Prince, general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, spoke.

Prince said cutting trees in the name of development now seems to have become state policy. On the question of protecting the environment there should be no division of party or opinion, he said; everyone must unite in a pro-environment movement.

Green Voice coordinator Alamgir Kabir said life is impossible without oxygen, yet the very trees that supply it are being cut down in the name of development. Legal action must be taken against those who destroy the environment out of personal interest, religious incitement or misconceptions, he said.

• Historic and environmentally important green areas such as Suhrawardy Udyan, Ramna Park and Osmani Udyan must not be used for development projects in any way, and a permanent, strict law must be made and enforced for this.
• Before new infrastructure is built in urban development, an "environmental impact assessment" must be made mandatory, and every project must include designs to protect trees and to replant old trees in position.
• Trees must be planted and protected along roadsides and on abandoned vacant land, with arrangements to replant trees there, and a policy must be applied to preserve at least 25 per cent green area in every ward.
• Green buffer zones must urgently be created around the city to curb noise and air pollution, especially by planting sound-absorbing trees along industrial areas, the metro rail and main roads.
• Canals, ponds and reservoirs must be restored to create a "green-blue corridor" in Dhaka, so that the air can be kept clean and temperatures lowered naturally.

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