Naogaon: A union-level BNP leader in Naogaon’s Mahadevpur upazila has been accused of cutting up two neem trees that lined a public road and were uprooted in a storm, and taking them to his own sawmill.
The accused is Amjad Hossain, general secretary of the Bhimpur union unit of the BNP. A day after learning of the matter, the Forest Department seized the two trees from the sawmill.
The road from Changkuri Mor to Tejpain Mor in the upazila’s Bhimpur union runs about 6 km, with numerous fruit and timber trees on both sides. Two neem trees were uprooted near the Lakshmipur Mor area along the road during a storm on Saturday night. The next day, Sunday, at about 1:30 p.m., the trees were cut up under the direction of union BNP general secretary Md. Amjad Hossain and taken to his sawmill at Nowhata Mor, according to the allegation. The matter has been a subject of talk since then.
Residents said the cutting and removal of trees from a public road without government permission had sparked public anger, and they demanded an investigation and action.
Amjad Hossain, general secretary of the Bhimpur union BNP, denied the allegation. “The blame being placed on me for cutting and taking away the trees is completely false and baseless,” he said. “If the matter is investigated, the truth will come out. Someone, driven by political vendetta, is trying to spread this rumor.”
He said two trees had been uprooted by the storm and were lying on the road. “The trees would be worth 3,000 to 4,000 taka at most,” he said. “The beneficiaries there [tree-care members] contacted me and asked for laborers. They then paid 1,500 taka in laborers’ wages and cut the trees themselves. They spent another 1,000 taka on transport to bring those two trees to my sawmill and store them there. Later, Forest Department people came and took the two trees away.”
Md. Khairul Islam, the Forest Department officer for Mahadevpur upazila, said no one was allowed to cut down or remove trees from a public road, nor to sell them. “After learning of the matter, the two trees were seized from the spot on Monday morning,” he said. “The stumps were also brought in. A case will be filed in court against Amjad Hossain and others involved in this incident. The case is in process.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report