The government has increased entry fees for six botanical gardens and eco-parks up to Tk 100.
A notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on April 21 announced the new fees for botanical gardens and eco-parks under the Forest Department with immediate effect.聽聽
Entry fees for individuals aged over 12 years have been increased to Tk 100 from Tk 20 for the National Botanical Garden in the capital鈥檚 Mirpur, Tk 100 from Tk 50 for Lawachara National Park in Moulvibazar, Tk 100 from Tk 35 for Satchari National Park in Habiganj, Tk 100 from Tk 20 for Madhutila Eco Park in Sherpur, Tk 100 from Tk 50 for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Cox鈥檚 Bazar, and Tk 50 from Tk 7 for Banshkhali Eco Park in Chattogram, according to the notification signed by assistant chief conservator of forests Md Mahmudul Hasan.
The entry fees for individuals under 12 years have also been increased to Tk 50 from Tk 10 for the National Botanical Garden, Lawachara National Park, Satchari National Park, Madhutila Eco Park, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park in Cox鈥檚 Bazar, and Tk 30 for Banshkhali Eco Park.
The department of forests took the move to increase the entry fees in keeping with the market prices and also for boosting government revenue, according to a proposal sent to the environment ministry on February 27.聽聽聽
Experts, however, argue that such increase in entry fees is illogical and will restrict public access to these significant natural sites, depriving people of their basic rights and suggested reviewing the decision.
Adil Mohammed Khan, professor at the urban and regional planning department of Jahangirnagar University, said that these sites were crucial for people to connect with nature for physical and mental wellbeing as well as for education and that it is their right to have free access to these sites.
These irrational entry fees will limit access of the ordinary people, especially those in lower and middle-income groups, to the sites, he said.聽
Ghulam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said that although the government was supposed to work for public welfare, it often made decisions driven by a profit-oriented mentality.
鈥楽uch an increase is illogical, as people鈥檚 incomes are not increasing in line with the high cost of living, and there are not many places for recreation,鈥� he added.
Botanical gardens, where a wide range of plants are grown for scientific and educational purposes, play a significant role in assisting students and researchers in doing their work.
The new notification, however, has not kept special entry fees for students and researchers at Mirpur National Botanical Garden.聽
Mohammed Almujaddade Alfasane, a professor in the Department of Botany at the University of Dhaka, said that botanical gardens were places where endangered trees could be grown for further research and students got the opportunity to learn about many species of trees in a limited space.聽
He feared that such an increase will affect learning opportunities of students, which will eventually impact conservation and research activities in this field.
The entry fee for a group of 100 students has been set at Tk 1,000, and for more than 100 students, it is Tk 1,500.
For a foreign visitor, the entry fee is Tk 1,000.