Environmentalists on Monday formed a human chain in Rajshahi city protesting against felling trees and filling a pond inside the Rajshahi Textile Mills by the PRAN-RFL group.
The environmentalists formed the human chain under the banner of Sabuj Sanghati and Varendra Youth Forum in front of the textile mills at Sopura area in the city.
Addressing the human chain, Rastra Sangskar Andolan Rajshahi divisional coordinator Mahmud Jamal Quaderi said that Rajshahi was a relatively dry and drought-prone area where the need for diverse plants was very crucial.
鈥榃ith the gradual decline of trees and water bodies, the amount of rainfall in the Rajshahi region has decreased over the years while the temperature continues to rise. The severity of drought and soil erosion is also increasing in the region rapidly,鈥� he said.
Quaderi said that PRAN-RFL group had recently cut down over 200 trees and was filling an old pond inside the Rajshahi Textile Mills after it had taken the factory on lease for the next 30-year under a private-public partnership in the past year.
Atikur Rahman Atik, general secretary of Varendra Youth Forum, said that nearly 205 trees of the forest department located at Nowdapara area in the city were chopped three years ago in the name of development.
鈥楴ow, over 200 trees have been chopped inside the Rajshahi Textile Mills. In this way, the oxygen reservoirs of the city are being destroyed one after another on a daily basis, which is having a negative impact on the region鈥檚 temperature, environment and biodiversity,鈥� 聽he said.
The speakers urged the authorities concerned to ensure exemplary punishment to those who were involved in felling trees and filling pond, to take necessary steps so that no more trees are cut down, to restore the pond in its previous condition, and to plant native species of forest, fruit-bearing and medicinal trees on the site where the trees were cut down.
Later, the environmentalists also held a mass signature and submitted a memorandum to the Rajshahi deputy commissioner with their demands.
Earlier in October 2024, Pran-RFL Group signed an agreement with Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation to reopen Rajshahi Textile Mills through a private-public partnership.
According to the deal, Pran-RFL Group will pay Tk 6 crore to use Rajshahi Textile Mills for the first three years and Tk 1.71 crore for each subsequent year.
Rajshahi Textile Mill was established on 26.34 acres of land in Sapura of Rajshahi in 1975. It has been closed since 1997.
Touhid Zaman, deputy general manager for public relations of PRAN-RFL Group, said that they were also aware about felling down trees inside Rajshahi Textile Mills.
鈥業 will visit the mill on Tuesday morning to look into the matter and talk with the journalists in Rajshahi,鈥� he said, adding that they would plant trees inside the textile mills according to their plans as it would be the largest mills in the northern part of the country.