A young man named Manikuzzaman Manik in Santhia upazila, Pabna, dreams of a green revolution. He is working towards it by planting fruit, timber and medicinal trees at schools and colleges, mosques and madrasas, Eidgahs and along roadsides across the upazila.

Manikuzzaman Manik is the son of Alhaj Abdul Baten Master of Raghunathpur village in the upazila's R-Ataikula union. He is a first-class contractor, and alongside his contracting business he helps the area's needy people and works on greening.

Locals said that when the coronavirus pandemic began, Manikuzzaman started distributing food to the needy and those out of work. While delivering food door to door, he had the idea of planting trees along the roads. He began the work with his own money, and gradually started planting in empty spaces at local schools, colleges, mosques, madrasas and Eidgahs.

In a year and a half he has given food to 750 needy and jobless people, saris to more than 500 needy women and toys to children in 17 villages of the upazila's Raghunathpur-Ataikula union, and planted more than 3,000 saplings in these areas.

Kamrul Hasan, a resident of Ataikula, said: "Manik doesn't just plant trees; he stands beside the poor in their troubles. During the coronavirus period he helped many needy people."

Md Alauddin, a resident of Kumirdagi in the same upazila, said Manik planted trees on his own initiative beside their mosque and graveyard and arranged fencing around them.

Afsar Ali, head teacher of Samanyapara Government Primary School in Santhia, said Manik bought a fan for the school library, and most recently planted saplings around the school at his own expense.

Manikuzzaman Manik said: "I pick fruit, timber and medicinal saplings from nurseries and plant them along roads and at mosques and madrasas. If everyone comes forward like this, the balance of green nature will be kept."

Santhia upazila vice-chairman Sohel Rana Khokon said that if the young man's dream comes true, the whole area will gradually fill with green.

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