Trees were allegedly felled under cover of darkness at Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital in the name of development. Environmentalists said the trees were cut suddenly at around 10pm on Sunday (19 May), and it is alleged that a contracting firm began the work.

Amirul Rajib, coordinator of the tree protection movement, who was at the scene, told Jagonews24 by mobile phone that two trees had been cut inside Shahbag police station. He said large trees had been cut down in Suhrawardy Udyan along the stretch from the TSC gate to Doyel Chattar, and the felled trees had already been removed. The roots of seven or eight more large trees were being pulled out with an excavator, he said. "This is a kind of anarchy. There was a High Court directive on felling trees in Suhrawardy Udyan."

He added that he had been there since 9pm and that police were moving everyone away so that no one came near. He said there were plans to cut more trees inside the park during the night, that the felling had been planned for a long time, and that it had begun suddenly that night.

A company called Abul Munsur Construction is reported to be cutting the trees under a project. Mizanur Rahman, a civil engineer with the firm, told Jagonews24 that the work was the third phase of the Independence Monument (Swadhinata Stambha) project in Suhrawardy Udyan. "So we are doing our work. Some trees were touched by our machines. In that sense, no tree has been cut," he said.

Mostajirur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Shahbag police station, said branches of two trees inside the police station had been cut because the large trees were causing problems with electricity lines and the branches were blocking the view of CCTV cameras. He said no trees were being cut.

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