Hill cutting and consequence
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
WE thank the committees for submitting the report after investigating the June 11 landslides in Chittagong, which killed at least 126 people. Usually we see the official inquiries into such large-scale disasters in Bangladesh taking too long a time for finalisation of related reports and their submission to the authorities concerned. Again, those reports, after their submission, gather dust in the government shelves. According to the latest reports of the enquiry committees on the June 11 landslides in Chittagong leveling of hills is the prime reason for the same. The conscious and conscientious sections of society have been campaigning against hill cutting with the warning of a disaster of such a magnitude for long. Also it is a well-known fact that the Chittagong Development Authority, the Department of Environment and the Chittagong Metropolitan Police did not do the needful for putting an end to hill cutting.
The findings and recommendations of the committees can serve as pointers to the urgency of starting a well-orchestrated campaign against destruction of hills in the hilly regions in the country. There are reasons to believe that certain unscrupulous officials and employees of the concerned authorities have not been discharging their functional roles to prevent the mindless actions by certain quarters.
We do not believe the fight against hill cutting can be waged with these people. There should be inter- and intra-departmental inquiry to identify those who have colluded with those involved in hill cutting. Also, as the inquiry committees have established a direct correlation between the landslides and the hill cutting, appropriate actions should follow to prevent the recurrence of such disasters.
Iqbal Ahmed
Dhanmandi R/A
Dhaka
The findings and recommendations of the committees can serve as pointers to the urgency of starting a well-orchestrated campaign against destruction of hills in the hilly regions in the country. There are reasons to believe that certain unscrupulous officials and employees of the concerned authorities have not been discharging their functional roles to prevent the mindless actions by certain quarters.
We do not believe the fight against hill cutting can be waged with these people. There should be inter- and intra-departmental inquiry to identify those who have colluded with those involved in hill cutting. Also, as the inquiry committees have established a direct correlation between the landslides and the hill cutting, appropriate actions should follow to prevent the recurrence of such disasters.
Iqbal Ahmed
Dhanmandi R/A
Dhaka