Protest against tree felling in Nagar Bhaban

Police on Sunday foiled an attempt of some demonstrators to lay siege to Nagar Bhaban.

Police on Sunday foiled an attempt of some demonstrators to lay siege to Nagar Bhaban, the Dhaka South City Corporation’s headquarters, protesting its decision to cut down trees in Dhanmondi’s Saat Masjid Road in the capital.

Around 200 people took part in a possession under the banner of Saat Masjid Gaach Rakkha Andolan (Movement to protect trees on Dhanmondi’s Saat Masjid Road) in the morning, said our correspondent from the spot.

The progamme was announced from a press conference on Saturday by Saat Masjid Gaach Rakkha Andolan to protest felling of trees by DSCC in Dhanmondi’s Saat Masjid Road in the name of development.

As part of the programme, the protesters gathered at Shahbag’s Doyel Chattar on Sunday morning. Various cultural and environmental organizations including Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA) and people from different walks of life joined the possession.

The protesters left Doyel Chattar in Shahbagh at 11:30am to lay a siege to Nagar Bhaban to press home their 4-point demand.

However, when they reached Bangabazar intersection in Dhaka’s Gulistan area, police obstructed them from moving forward, Alamgir Kabir, the general secretary of Poribesh Bachao Andolan (PoBa) told UNB.

Later, the protesters took position at the intersection where they chanted slogans and demanded a dialogue with the DSCC Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.

At around 12:40pm, DSCC Chief Executive Officer Mizanur Rahman and Chief Property Officer Russell Sabrin arrived at the Bangabazar intersection and spoke with the demonstrators.

The DSCC CEO said the trees were felled to facilitate development in Saat Masjid Road area.

Referring to other nature-centric development projects undertaken by the Dhaka South City Corporation, Mizanur Rahman assured the demonstrators that their demands will be conveyed to Mayor Taposh.

However, the DSCC failed to convince the demonstrators who later called off the protest for today vowing to continue the movement against tree felling activities.

The protesters are set to hold a press briefing in this regard later in the day.

The 4-point demand includes the felling of trees in the name of development in public areas – including Saat Masjid Road – must be stopped, saplings of diverse and indigenous species should be planted in place of felled trees, stopping corruption committed in the guise of tree-trading, emphasizing nature-based planning in urban development, and adopting specific laws for trees and city residents and the tree conservation programme should be spread across the country and not just Dhaka city.