Fire at 3 Lawachhara hills destroys trees
A tree trunk burns at a hillock in Lawachhara under Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar district, right, remains of a cut down tree lie at a nearby hillock that also saw fire allegedly set by tree plunderers at night on Friday and Saturday.Photo: STAR
Fire incidents at three hillocks of Lawachhara under Kamalganj upazila in Moulvibazar district have burnt trees and plants on about 50 acres of land. On Friday night, fire originated at a rubber garden at Teroghar hillock in Lawachhara and it was followed by another fire at Baghmara hillock after a few hours, locals said. On Saturday night, another fire incident took place at 'segun and jarul garden hillock', also in the same area. The fires ended on Sunday. Local people alleged that the forest department did not take any step to douse the fire despite being informed shortly afterwards while Forest Department (wildlife) sources said the three hillocks are not under Lawachhara Reserve Forest. Taking opportunity of the fire incidents, a gang of criminals plundered teak trees worth lakhs of taka from the spot, locals said. "A few criminals backed by local Awami League leaders are plundering valuable trees from Lawachhara in broad daylight. The fire incidents on Friday and Saturday might be pre-planned acts by miscreants who tried to vanish the marks of plundering," a prominent person in the area requesting anonymity told this correspondent over phone. "The three hillocks where fire incidents occurred are not under Lawachhara Reserve Forest. The fire possibly originated from burning cigarettes," AKM Azharul Islam, range officer (wildlife) of Lawachhara Reserve Forest, said. However, departmental action will be taken after investigation into the incident as the area is near Lawachhara Reserve Forest, said Mullah Rezaul Karim, assistant conservator of forest (wildlife). Kamalganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Prokash Kanti Chowdhury said he will an investigation into the matter.
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