The High Court (HC) last Thursday directed the government to maintain status quo on the decision of chopping down century-old trees on the Jessore-Benapole Highway, popularly known as Jessore road, for six months. The HC bench came up with the order in the wake of protests against the government decision to cut down the trees under a project to upgrade Jessore-Benapole and Jessore-Khulna highways into four lanes.
The HC bench also asked the government to explain why it should not be directed to construct the four-lane road on the highway protecting thousands of trees on both the sides. The HC came up with order and rule after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB). The petition mentioned that the government could continue development work of the road, but without chopping down the trees on the road.
In July of 2016, the authorities decided to chop down 2,700 roadside trees on the highway. Many of these trees are over 100 years old. Different quarters across the country reacted against the decision of chopping trees. Both physical and virtual protests spread out throughout the country to save environment and respect history. These age-old trees are the witnesses of the Liberation War of Bangladesh.
This is where the world famous Beat poet Allen Ginsberg witnessed the suffering of fleeing people with the trees wrote his immortal poem 'September on Jessore Road'. The protesters rightly say the road can be upgraded to a four-lane keeping the trees as they are. Moreover, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. An environmental assessment is indispensable before commencing any development project here. According to the green activists, 2,312 trees will have to be chopped down to widen the 38-km Jessore road which would be a disaster for the environment as the trees spread out on over 210 acres.
We welcome the High Court directive on this issue. It will be pleasure if a permanent stay order is imposed. It is astonishing that in spite of having sufficient land on both sides of the road, the local authorities want to cut down 2,300 trees, which seems intentional. Experts and environmentalists opined that building a two-lane road keeping the trees in the middle is entirely possible. Why didn't the authority comprehend that? Or they don't want to keep the historical trees? Is anybody trying to earn some fast cash by chopping down history?
Environmental science says the more aged a tree is the more carbons it absorbs from atmosphere, not to speak of the cool shade it serves to the travelers. They support more species than the younger trees. Overlooking all these, the authority wants to destroy both history and environment. This is not acceptable.
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