Roadside trees often fall prey to roadblocks
Locals cut down roadside trees to block vehicular movement at Ramdubi on Dinajpur-Dhaka highway in Dinajpur Sadar upazila to vent their grievance after a road accident killed an elderly woman and her granddaughter on September 1.Photo: STAR
Frequent road blockade in Dinajpur and Joypurhat districts has emerged as a serious threat to the roadside trees that are often felled to put up barricades on national and regional highways. There have been 37 reported incidents of roadblock in Dinajpur and 12 in Joypurhat district since January this year as locals often resort to such programmes to realise their demands and protest against crimes and road accidents. Road blockade causes immense sufferings to the commuters while a section of people in the name of protest loot roadside trees belonging to forest and roads and highways departments, said police and officials of the two departments in Dinajpur and Joypurhat. On September 1, villagers of Ramdubimore area on Dinajpur-Rangpur highway blocked the road for five hours protesting a road accident that killed an elderly woman and her granddaughter. During the blockade, the villagers axed at least 75 road trees of Dinajpur Forest Department, sources said. On September 13, villagers of Anandasagar under Dinajpur Sadar upazila blocked Dinajpur-Dhaka highway for three hours demanding cancellation of the decision of police to conduct post mortem of a girl who committed suicide early that day. The same day, residents of Gopalganj under Dinajpur Sadar upazila blocked Dinajpur-Dhaka highway for four hours demanding a speed breaker after a minor road accident. In another incident last month, villagers of Kashipur of Dinajpur Sadar upazila cut down three giant trees on Dinajpur-Dhaka highway and blocked vehicular traffic for 18 hours protesting murder of a minor boy of the village. In the face of rising incidents of roadblock, Dinajpur Deputy Commissioner Md Jamal Uddin recently made an appeal to the people to shun the practice as it causes public sufferings. The appeal, however, seems to have made little impact. This correspondent talked to a cross-section of people r5egarding the matter. "Roadblock programmes are reflective of poor governance. Common people have begun to feel that they would not get justice without disruptive activities," said social worker Rezaur Rahman Rezu, also general secretary of Dinajpur unit of Udichi. "The government should improve the remedy system if they want to prevent such aggressive reactions from people. It is ironical that common themselves become sufferers due to road blockades," Mukur Chowdhury, general secretary of Dinajpur district BNP, said. Police rarely register cases against those responsible for blocking roads. "In most cases police cannot take any action against those who resort to road blockade or such illegal means at the beginning. However, in many cases, roadblocks continue for a brief period and the agitators lift the blockade after persuasion," said Md Moinul Islam, superintendent of police of Dinajpur. Police will use videography for the identification of and taking action against those responsible for road blockade, he said.
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