Nature takes its revenge
Friday, 15 June 2007
THE Chittagong region is one of the few regions of the country that signify any physical difference with the rest of Bangladesh which mainly forms a vast delta at the confluence of many rivers. Thus, there is a reason to maintain the special hilly characteristics of this region which breaks the general monotony of the flat physical nature of most of Bangladesh. The hills are soothing for the eyes; their lush green sides attract tourists. But this source of environmental and aesthetic pleasure has been gradually getting spoiled due to human intervention. Many of the hills of the area became denuded of trees and vegetation long ago owing to the greed of some unscrupulous businesses or the needs of firewood and settlement of the local people.
Some media reports that focused on the latest Chittagong tragedy underlined it that it would not have been of this magnitude if there was not a short-sighted plan to settle people from other districts on the hills leading to their degradation. The people who were allowed to settle on the hills and make the same their homes were naturally prone to felling trees and cutting down shrubs from the hilly lands or, even more dangerously, slicing down the hills progressively for agricultural and other purposes. Only the hills which were so denuded and cut down suddenly collapsed under heavy rains burying the unfortunate dwellers on them or beside them underneath. Thus, two aspects have been identified for the fatality : the very poor vision in settling people here and giving them a free hand to mutilate the hills as they liked. Thus, it was no wonder that mother nature took her cruel revenge by perishing hundreds in the land slides or mudslides.
Hill cutting, as it happened, also turned into an occupation of sorts for some local people. The media highlighted many times how contractors and builders in need of earth for filling purposes had been more and more turning their greedy eyes on Chittagong's hills. Huge amounts of earth can be quickly removed and trucked away for good profits at many construction sites dotted across the country by hill-cutting. The press highlighted pictorially how the hills were being awfully disfigured and vanishing in part in many cases from such relentless activities of cutting them down. But the exposures were in vain as nobody in governance of the country seemed to care enough to attempt a resistance to these environmentally most disagreeable activities. Of course, there is likely to be concern after a tragedy has struck. But could it not be averted long before with appropriate policies and their implementation?
The hill cutters could be so reckless as there existed an ambiguity in laws or a legal vacuum that facilitated them. Therefore, this government should lose no time to streamline the laws quickly against hill-cutting. More significant would be enforcement of the laws. Vigilance must be maintained throughout the hills to detect every attempted case of hill cutting to prevent the same. The guilty ones will have to be duly charged under the laws and brought to book so that all potential offenders can be discouraged. The policy of allowing the hills to be settled by people from other areas in a carefree manner, must also be abandoned for good. The cutting down of trees and plants in the hilly region should be likewise prohibited and regulated.
Some media reports that focused on the latest Chittagong tragedy underlined it that it would not have been of this magnitude if there was not a short-sighted plan to settle people from other districts on the hills leading to their degradation. The people who were allowed to settle on the hills and make the same their homes were naturally prone to felling trees and cutting down shrubs from the hilly lands or, even more dangerously, slicing down the hills progressively for agricultural and other purposes. Only the hills which were so denuded and cut down suddenly collapsed under heavy rains burying the unfortunate dwellers on them or beside them underneath. Thus, two aspects have been identified for the fatality : the very poor vision in settling people here and giving them a free hand to mutilate the hills as they liked. Thus, it was no wonder that mother nature took her cruel revenge by perishing hundreds in the land slides or mudslides.
Hill cutting, as it happened, also turned into an occupation of sorts for some local people. The media highlighted many times how contractors and builders in need of earth for filling purposes had been more and more turning their greedy eyes on Chittagong's hills. Huge amounts of earth can be quickly removed and trucked away for good profits at many construction sites dotted across the country by hill-cutting. The press highlighted pictorially how the hills were being awfully disfigured and vanishing in part in many cases from such relentless activities of cutting them down. But the exposures were in vain as nobody in governance of the country seemed to care enough to attempt a resistance to these environmentally most disagreeable activities. Of course, there is likely to be concern after a tragedy has struck. But could it not be averted long before with appropriate policies and their implementation?
The hill cutters could be so reckless as there existed an ambiguity in laws or a legal vacuum that facilitated them. Therefore, this government should lose no time to streamline the laws quickly against hill-cutting. More significant would be enforcement of the laws. Vigilance must be maintained throughout the hills to detect every attempted case of hill cutting to prevent the same. The guilty ones will have to be duly charged under the laws and brought to book so that all potential offenders can be discouraged. The policy of allowing the hills to be settled by people from other areas in a carefree manner, must also be abandoned for good. The cutting down of trees and plants in the hilly region should be likewise prohibited and regulated.