A week-long tree fair has begun in the hill district of Rangamati under the theme "Let us adorn the country by planting trees, Bangladesh above all". Rangamati MP Advocate Dipen Dewan opened the fair by planting a tree on the morning of Thursday, 23 July.

Speaking as chief guest, Dipen Dewan said: "The struggle for survival of people living in the hills is closely tied to the forest. Many people here depend on the forest and earn their living from it. So along with expanding afforestation in the hills, we must give importance to people's lives and livelihoods. Local people face various kinds of harassment when they sell the timber from trees they have planted commercially on their own initiative. These issues must be resolved more easily."

He said hill torrents had recently caused widespread damage to markets, homesteads and cropland in Farua union of Rangamati's Bilaichhari upazila. People living there want to move their homes from the riverbank to near the border road and have asked him to help resettle them. But the whole of Farua union lies inside a reserved forest, so resettling these people elsewhere will be difficult without the Forest Department's cooperation.

"Achieving the government's target of planting 25 crore trees over the next five years also needs everyone's coordinated effort and cooperation," he said.

The discussion at the Kumar Sumit Roy Gymnasium grounds in the town was chaired by Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Nazma Ashrafi. Chakma Circle Chief Barrister Devasish Roy, former MP Moni Swapan Dewan and Rangamati Sadar zone commander Ekramul Rahat were among those who spoke as guests.

Speakers said it is very hard to set aside land for afforestation given Bangladesh's size and population, but the hill areas are still green. Rangamati has 200 protected village common forests (para forests), which local officials are helping to conserve. Speakers called for planting large tree species to help tackle the risk of landslides.

They said the hill rivers Kassalong, Raikhyang and Maini must be protected, as forests and rivers are closely linked, and if rivers survive, life will be easier for animals and people. Chattogram's Halda river generates Tk 20,000 crore a year, with its water and fish resources the only source of that income, they said. Besides the Forest Department, the army and BGB play an important role in protecting the hill forests, regularly helping the department stop timber smuggling.

Seedlings of fruit, timber, medicinal and flowering plants will be sold at 24 stalls during the fair, which runs from 23 to 29 July.

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