A company called Kingshuk Farms Limited is continuing the work of building a resort by destroying parabons in Pachardwip, adjacent to the beach of Cox’s Bazar, showing a thumb to the concerned administration. Due to destruction of parabons by fire, the bird habitat of Pachhar Island is being destroyed as well as the biodiversity. In the last one month, several national dailies have published graphic reports of parabon destruction, but till now no action has been taken against the encroachers by the concerned administration, forest department or environment department. did not Leaders of some environmentalist organizations said that influential circles are involved with the organization involved in building resorts and fish farms by taking over Parabon. It seems that everyone has retreated to black money. President of Cox’s Bazar Citizens’ Forum ANM Helal Uddin said that 15 to 20 in Bharakhal of Patchardwip in Cox’s Bazar. There are acres of parabens. The Coastal Forest Department created this paraforest about 20 years ago. Parabon was home to 40 species of birds. But for a month, the people of an organization called Kingshuk have been uprooting at least 20,000 trees in Parabon to build a resort and fish farm. The company has occupied more than 10 acres of Parabon by erecting a 700 feet long wall inside the forest. Construction of vehicular roads and fish farm embankments continues within Parabon. More than six acres of Parabon have now been destroyed by fire. Efforts are underway to wipe out the remaining 10-15 acres of Parabon. But so far no one from the government office has gone there. It was seen on the ground last week that the southern part of Parabon occupied by King Shuk was burnt. Apart from this, the local people are cutting down the burned coconut and pine trees. The trees inside the parabon occupied by Kingshook are also being cut down. No one was found there to interfere with this work. A signboard hung on the east side of the seized Parabon reads, Kingshuk Pharms Limited is a subsidiary of Radiant Pharmaceuticals. However, the owner’s name and contact address or mobile number are not mentioned on the signboard. A tin house has been constructed on the western side of the signboard. A few local people looked after Parabon, which was taken over on behalf of King Shuk. A call to Moshiur’s mobile phone was made to speak to Kingshuk’s manager Moshiur Alam, who is in charge of Parabon occupation and infrastructure construction, but he did not pick up. Because of this, his statement was not available. However, earlier in early March, he said that even though Parabon is a privately owned place. At Registry, Kingshook is buying Parabon and building infrastructure there. Embankments and access roads have been constructed for the farm. Paved buildings were erected there long ago. Shafiqul Islam Sohel, UP member of Ward No. 9 of Khuniapalong Union of the concerned upazila, said that the parabon which was encroached and destroyed by fire was created 20 to 25 years ago. Once the people of this area used to hunt fish in Paraban. Besides this forest protects the coast from tidal waves. However, parabens are being killed for a month. But there is no one to stop this destruction. Bangladesh Environment Movement (Bapa) Cox’s Bazar district branch president Fazlul Quader Chowdhury expressed concern over the incident and said that due to encroachment of paraforests, bird habitats are being destroyed as well as marine animals and biodiversity are being destroyed. Mother turtles have stopped laying eggs from the deep sea. Cox’s Bazar residents will take to the field if a case is filed against the encroachers immediately and if the embankments and concrete walls inside the Paraban are not removed. Cox’s Bazar North Forest Division Headquarters Range Officer Sumir Ranjan Saha said that the upazila land administration area where the Paraban trees are being uprooted and the structures are being built. In this case, the upazila administration can take action. When asked about the destruction of Paraban by fire, Ramu Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Fahmida Mustafa said that she is not aware of this incident. He will take action after inquiry. Earlier, UNO announced action against the accused in Parabon occupation and killing, but no visible progress has been seen till date. When asked about this, UNO Fahmida Mustafa said that the Department of Environment should file a case in the case of paraban killing. The local land office tehsildar was given the responsibility to identify the ownership of the paraban. Tahsildar gave the report. In this regard, the District Commissioner has also been informed in writing. It has been recommended to file a case against the accused in the Department of Environment. Even though we contacted several times to know about the case, the statement of Deputy Director of Department of Environment Cox’s Bazar Md. Hafizur Rahman was not available. It is known that he is in training in Dhaka. However, a few days ago, Hafizur Rahman told reporters that the Department of Environment is preparing a case against Kingshuk for the destruction of parabons, the construction of embankments and boundary walls. They don’t even know about the destruction of more parabons by fire.
Visits: 0
