Protecting hills in Sylhet

Maintaining the integrity of hills is crucial for preserving environmental balance and biodiversity. Protecting these natural formations is also vital for the development of a country's natural heritage and tourism industry. However, in Bangladesh, the opposite is occurring as hills are being rapidly mowed down.
Hills are being cut down, and their soil is transported to brick kilns or used to fill swamps. Trees are being felled, and such illegal activities generate illegal revenue worth hundreds of crores of taka annually. Various syndicates have emerged to capitalise on this destruction.
Those tasked with protecting the hills often compromise for various reasons, resulting in a surge of hill cutting in the country's hilly regions. According to a recent news report, hills are being destroyed in Jaintapur, Sylhet, particularly in Horni village of Ward No. 6 of Nijpat Union. Despite the continuous cutting of hills day and night, the administration has taken no effective steps to stop these illicit activities so far.
Wanton destruction of hills is also reported from in areas like Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, and Sunamganj. Even within Sylhet city, hill cutting is going on unabated. The Department of Environment cites insufficient manpower to take decisive action. However, there are allegations that no hill is cut without the Department being 'managed.' Similar accusations are directed at the local land office. Reports suggest that many influential locals, including politicians and public representatives, are either directly involved in or regularly bribe DoE officials so that the latter overlook these activities.
Media reports indicate that 30 per cent of the hills in greater Sylhet have been cleared in the last two years. Hill cutting occurs day and night, with some operations continuing under the cover of darkness. Environmentalists warn that if this continues, the hills of greater Sylhet division could vanish within a few decades.

Jasim Uddin
Student
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology
Sylhet
[email protected]