Beneficiaries of social forestry run by the Forest Department in Moheshkhali upazila have received cheques worth Tk 66 lakh as their share of profits, under the theme "Sheikh Hasina's directive, a climate-resilient Bangladesh". It is the first time the Coastal Forest Department has distributed profit-share money to beneficiaries.

More than a hundred local residents in the upazila had been creating and looking after the plantation for the Coastal Forest Department for the past 10 years.

The Coastal Forest Department held the cheque-giving ceremony on Monday afternoon at the ground of Adharghona Government Primary School in Kalarmarchhara in the upazila. Divisional forest officer Abdur Rahman presided, and Cox's Bazar-2 MP Ashek Ullah Rafiq was chief guest. Moheshkhali upazila parishad chairman Sharif Badsha, Moheshkhali police station officer in charge (OC) Mohammad Abdul Hai, upazila Awami League vice-president Faridul Alam, Kalarmarchhara UP chairman Tarek Osman Sharif, upazila Awami League leader Selim Chowdhury, upazila primary education officer Abu Noman Md Abdullah and upazila forest officer Anisul Haque spoke as special guests.

Social forestry president Siddique Ahmad, Aman Ullah and people from different walks of life were also present.

Divisional forest officer Abdur Rahman said cheques for Tk 66 lakh, the profit from selling social forestry trees, had been given to 60 people in Moheshkhali this time. "We believe that seeing this, more people will be interested in creating social forests in future," he said.

Answering a question, he said crab farmers in Moheshkhali must take a licence from the Forest Department, and it costs little. "We want everyone to become self-reliant and share in the development of Moheshkhali."

The chief guest said: "We cut trees on the hills; this is a serious crime. By creating more social forests we can earn money like this while sitting at home. Trees give us oxygen and do us many other good things." He called for women as well as men to be involved in forestry work.

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