Illegal logging, hill cutting and blocked streams in Bandarban’s remote Alikadam-Thanchi area have devastated forests, dried water sources and triggered severe biodiversity loss, residents and local leaders allege.
A timber trafficking syndicate has been accused of destroying natural forest for years in the remote Alikadam-Thanchi border area of Bandarban, where local residents say hill cutting, road construction and blocked stream flows have pushed the environment and biodiversity into a severe crisis.
Residents say the forest destruction is spreading across about 200 acres in and around Pamiya Mro Para, Tantui Para, Namchak Para, Kakoi Para and Adoi Para in Ward No. 9 of Chaikhyong union. The area lies about 127 kilometres from the district headquarters and around 18 kilometres from Alikadam. After travelling 18 kilometres along the Alikadam-Thanchi road and then walking for about an hour, the scale of the devastation becomes visible in the Pola Byang Jiri area.
An on-site visit found that the natural flow of the Pola Byang Jiri stream had been blocked and a truckable road carved out by cutting through the hills. Logs of different sizes were stacked on both sides of the road. Trees being felled and removed from the area and from the natural forest included garjan, champa flower tree, koroi, bailam, gutgutia, lali tree and chapalish along with other species.
Local people said the stream has dried up and Mro residents of five villages are now enduring acute water shortages. They said that just two years ago the area had large trees and dense forest and was home to bears, deer, wild boars and many species of birds and animals. Now, they said, both the forest and the wildlife have disappeared.
Residents alleged that excavators are being used regularly to break and cut hills to build roads and that timber is being trafficked on a routine basis through a bypass route known as Kolar Jiri to avoid a law enforcement checkpoint at the place known as 23 Kilo on the road from Alikadam to Thanchi.
They also alleged that part of the felled timber is being moved to different parts of the country under cover of legality using forest department permit papers known as jot permits. Another portion is being sold as fuel to illegal brick kilns in Alikadam. They said century-old mother trees are also being cut and trafficked leaving the wider area nearly stripped of trees.
The loss of forest has worsened the water crisis and driven away wildlife, residents said. People in at least five Mro villages including Pamiya, Tantui, Namchak, Kakoi and Adoi depend on water from different hill streams. With forest cleared and stream flows obstructed, the water shortage has now become severe.
Kamplat Mro, karbari of Adoi Para, said, “Seven or eight villages depend on water from this Byang Jiri stream. Now we are crying out for water.”
Men Rao Mro of Namchak Para said, “Even two years ago deer, bears, wild boars and different species of birds lived here. Now there is no forest and no animals.”
Men Chong Mro of Pamiya Para said there used to be abundant water as well as fish and crabs in the Byang Jiri stream. “Now the water has dried up and we are facing an extreme shortage of safe water,” he said.
Joam Lian Amlai, president of the Bandarban chapter of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Forest and Land Rights Protection Movement, said allegations had been received that a dishonest businessman named Ismail had been destroying natural forest and trafficking timber for the past two years.
Tain Range Officer Khandakar Ariful Islam said the forest department had no operations in the area concerned. However, he said legal action would be taken if illegal timber trafficking took place.
Alikadam Upazila Nirbahi Officer Monjur Alam said he was not aware of the issue and had not received any application from local residents. He said that if necessary he would visit the area with police and investigate and legal steps would be taken against those responsible.
Lama Forest Division Divisional Forest Officer Mostafizur Rahman said the incident would be investigated and necessary legal action would be taken.
