At least four trees including one rain tree, a Bunyan tree and a Neem tree were felled sometime in between Saturday morning and afternoon.
Most of the trees were on the land owned by Bangladesh Railway near its workshop. But the railway authorities or the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) had no clue about the illegal logging.
However, after journalists enquired the authorities, they raided the area and detained two persons who were preparing to cut down another tree. Railway authorities have already handed them to Khulshi Police Station.
CCC officials said they were widening the other side of the Tigerpass-Pahartoli road via Ambagan so these trees would not have been felled.
This organised gang planned to log these trees during weekly holiday, Saturday, they alleged.
The city corporation is working to widen the road, now christened as Ambagan road, from Tigerpass to Panjabi Lane, on the land owned by railways and will also build a bridge, a culvert and two streets.
On spot visit around 11am, it was noticed that a group of workers were cutting the huge hundred-year-old rain tree near the Railway Workshop.
One Mohammad Arman, who identified himself as a contractor, was present at the scene. He claimed to have obtained CCC’s permission to cut down the trees.
He told reporters that he would get the money for that later. Arman, however, could not specify how many trees would be logged and what amount of money he would be paid.
Asked about that, Director of the road widening project Abu Saleh told bdnews24.com they did not have any contractor named Arman involved in this project.
CCC Executive Engineer Saleh said, “We are widening the left side of the road but we didn’t plan to cut down any trees. We also did not ask the railway to do that.”
He said, “We completed the road’s carpeting without touching the trees. But this group of thieves are logging them.”
This gang also logged trees at AK Khan area claiming they had permission from the CCC, he added.
At least 30 labours were seen cutting down several trees at different spots on Ambagan road.
Some of them said they had approval of the CCC while others claimed railway gave them permission to fell trees.
Railway East Zone’s Chief Estate Officer Md Kamrul Amin told bdnews24.com he was in Dhaka at that time and confirmed that no one was authorised to log the trees.
He said he was giving orders to the officials to take immediate measures.
A Banyan tree beside the workshop, another tree beside the Railway Museum and two others standing beside the nearby Shahjahan playground were also logged. Branches of several other trees on either side of the road were also trimmed.
Locals were seen taking away the branches on rickshaw-vans.
Loggers also set up a bamboo shelf and were preparing to cut down a branch of a huge tree, believed to be aged nearly 250 years, adjacent to the boundary wall of Bangladesh Railway Government High School.
Led by East Zone Divisional Engineer-2 Tarun Kanti Bala and assisted by locals, railway officials raided that spot in the evening and nabbed two labours from there.
Later they handed the duo, ‘Sultan’, 45, and Md Sabuj, 20, over to Khulshi police, which OC Mainul Islam confirmed to bdnews24.com.
Tarun Kanti Bala said they also seized a truck and logging equipments from there.
He said they were preparing to lodge a case.
