Hills cutting going on in dark of night in Halda Valley tea garden.
MS Akash, Fatikchhari (Chattogram)
There have been allegations of cutting down hills and filling cropland in Halda Valley tea garden in Fatikchhari in violation of the Forest and Environment Act. The work of cutting soil has been going on since 4/5 days ago late at night. The truth of this incident was found during a field visit to the factory area of Halda tea garden during the day.
Local sources said that a huge mound was cut down with an excavator in the dark of night to evade the authorities. The red soil cut from the mound was dumped in a cropland just behind the garden manager's bungalow and filled in. To cover up the incident, there was a clever attempt to cover up the evidence by covering the cut part of the mound with ash and the filled cropland with sand.
Another source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "The garden authorities have been destroying nature by cutting down hills one after another for a long time without any regard for the Department of Environment. Earlier, hills and hills have been cut down in different parts of the garden in the same way. We want a permanent solution to this."
Despite several attempts to contact Halda Valley Tea Garden Manager MA Kashem on his mobile phone, he could not be reached.
Fatikchhari Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Rahmat Ullah said, "The matter has come to our attention. We will take action against it the next time the land is cut."
