Legal action against those who fail to prevent wild elephant killings and those involved: Minister of Environment, Bangladesh
By Amila Khan
MD. Shahab Uddin, Minister of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Bangladesh said, “Recently, wild elephants are being killed in some areas of the country, including Chittagong Hill Tracts and Cox’s Bazar for various reasons.
According to the rules, disciplinary action will be taken against the officials and employees who are responsible and failed to prevent the killing of these wild elephants. Besides, legal action will be taken against those involved in the killing.”
He said this at a monthly meeting held on November 25, 2020, through video conferencing to review the progress of implementation of the Ministry’s Annual Development Program (ADP) for the fiscal year 2020-21.
In the meeting, Habibun Nahar, Deputy Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and the Secretary along with higher officials of ministry and directorates, including Projects Directors of various projects took part in the discussion.
Besides, he also called upon the concerned authorities to intensify awareness programs to prevent the public from killing wild elephants and said everyone should be informed about the appropriate compensation to be given by the government to the people affected by the wild elephants. All necessary steps should be taken for the safety of all other types of wildlife, including elephants.
Meanwhile, Chief Forest Conservator Amir Hossain Chowdhury said elephant habitat has been destroyed and divided due to the construction of Rohingya habitat and implementation of various development projects. Their known long-term way has also been ruined. As a result, wild elephants try to enter human paddy fields, failing to find out the known paths or in search of food.
The wild elephants are dying due to the entanglement of power lines laid by the locals or other attacks. In each case, the case is being filed before the autopsy. Awareness programs will be intensified to prevent wild elephant killings.
The meeting reviewed in detail the implementation progress of the projects included in the Annual Development Program (ADP) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for the fiscal year 2020-21 and gave specific directions in each case. The Environment Minister urged the concerned to pay attention to ensure that all the projects are completed regularly and on time.
Ref: Green Page
