JU teachers, students protest against felling of trees

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SAVAR, April 11, 2021 (BSS)- Teachers and students of Jahangirnagar University (JU) today staged a demonstration on the campus protesting the university’s Botany department’s scheme of a modern botanical garden cutting the existing reserve forest trees.

About 25 teachers and students formed a human chain in front of the university’s botanical garden this noon demanding the cancellation of the decision of tree felling.

Addressing the program, Prof Jamal Uddin of the Environmental Sciences department said, ‘The university has a committee for cutting down mature trees after considering the ecological balance of the campus. But aiming to implement a personal project destroying reserve forest cannot be expected.’

Protesters at the human chain also alleged that the recent fires in various places, including the reserve forest area of the campus were planned ones.

Meanwhile, Prof Tarek Reza and Prof Shamima Sultana of Bangla department, general secretary of the university unit of Bangladesh Chhatra union Rakibul Rony, president of Jahangirnagar Cultural Alliance Dipankar Deep and general secretary of Samajtantrik Chhatra Front Abu Sayeid spoke, among others.

While contacted, Botany department chairman Professor Nuhu Alam said, “Some trees have been cut down in the botanical garden following the university’s customary rules. No concealment was made here. We need to plant some new trees in the garden to conduct some academic experiments. Large trees will create shade here which will disrupt research.”

‘We will build a greenhouse shed here for research so that a complete botanical garden can be created on our campus,” he added.