<i>Trees felled to 'widen road'</i>
Workers fell a koroi tree beside Shibrampur Government Primary School in Pabna town yesterday as the Roads and Highways Department recently sold 47 such trees, claiming that it was needed to widen an important road in the district headquarters.Photo: STAR
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has sold 47 trees in Pabna town beside the Dhaka-Pabna highway for Tk 55 thousand to widen the road from Gaspara to Terminal point of the district headquarter. But the actual value of the trees would be much higher as most of them are 10 to 12 years old, said forest department sources and locals. Although seven of the trees sold by the RHD belonged to forest department, no approval was taken from the forest department when the tender was called, said Ajit Kumar Rudra, divisional forest officer of Pabna. "It is ridiculous that 47 trees have been sold for Tk 55 thousand. As per rule, forest department officials are to be included in the tender committee for selling trees. The forest department estimates the price of trees. But this time the RHD did not inform us anything and completed the tender from Rajshahi,” he added. During a visit to Mojahidclub area of the town yesterday morning, this correspondent found nine large koroi trees felled down beside the road. As the RHD sold 47 trees from Gaspara to Terminal area in Pabna town, the contractors of Rajshahi recently received the work order and started cutting the trees last week. Fifteen of the trees have already been felled. Md Khaled Shahed, the executive engineer of RHD, Pabna, said the trees have been sold as the Dhaka-Pabna highway from Gaspara to Pabna Edward College in the middle of the district town will be widened by 10 feet on both sides. Refuting the allegation violating rule in the tender process, RHD Executive Engineer Md Khaled Shahed said, “We called the tender and estimated the value of the trees in proper way through the forest wing of RHD.”
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