Destruction of 14 coal reactors by the Forest Department, Bangladesh
By Sadman Sad
Fourteen coal furnaces were destroyed in the forest area of Banshtail Union in Mirzapur Upazila of Tangail.
The reactors were destroyed in a joint operation by the Tangail and Mirzapur offices of the Forest Department on Friday (August 21, 2020). A vast amount of wood was seized at the time, said by the bamboo bit officer Md. Zayed Hossain.
According to the Mirzapur Bamboo Oil Range Office, there are 15,600 hectares of government forest land in Mirzapur. In this vast forest, there are different species of trees, including Gajari, Gurjan, Teak, Akashmani, Pikrashi. Besides, a lot of trees have been planted under the social forestry program.
For a long time, some unscrupulous traders set up about 100 coal furnaces in different areas adjoining the forests of Banshtail, Tarafpur, Gorai, and Azgana Unions of the Upazila to make coal by burning wood. More than 50 reactors have already been destroyed in operation.
On Friday under the leadership of Md. Jubayer Hossain, Assistant Commissioner (Land), Tangail Upazila, and Md. Delwar Rahman, Range Officer, the Forest Department’s Bamboo Oil Range officials, conducted an operation in the Bamboo Oil area. During this time, 14 coal reactors were destroyed.
Md.Zayed Hossain, Bit officer of Bashtoil Head Office and Md. Hazrat Ali, Bit officer of Hatubhanga, said that a large quantity of stolen timber, including carrot trees, were seized during the operation. The forest department has conducted a campaign to prevent the theft of government forest trees. Their campaign will continue.
