Forest department files 272 cases against tree lifters



Alamgir Manik, District Correspondent, Barta24.com, Rangamati
Photo: Barta24.com

Photo: Barta24.com

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A long-standing allegation of the theft of hilly forest by the armed terrorists has been reported. Forest department officials said in the wake of allegations of smuggling trees from the time of deforestation, the trafficking rate has started to decline recently.

With the concerted efforts of local administrative bodies against tree thieves and terrorists bungling of trees have already fallen by 50 percent over the past few decades in the reserved forests and natural and private forests of the highlands. Forestry sources claimed legal action and consistent operations are forcing smugglers to stop.

According to the Forest Department authorities, at least one hundred and half of the accused have been sentenced to jail by the Rangamati court for their destruction of forest property. One of them is the Vice Chairman of the Upazila.

Rangamati Hill Chittagong South Forest Department sources said that in the past one and a half years, forest department authorities have stopped at least 272 cases in the past one year in order to stop the violence of illegal encroachment syndicate in the forest areas under Rangamati district. In these connections 2.50 crore of revenue was also earned.

Also, at least 25 acres of illegal forest reserves have also been recovered, said Md. Musharraf Hossain, head ranger of the South Forest Department. He said 60 cases are underway in Rangamati court. Besides, 10 writ petition and two civil suits are ongoing in the civil court in Dhaka High Court.

During the last six months, 82 cases have been settled through the South Forest Department. Of them, at least 160 accused have been convicted in five cases. Such successes in the forest department was never seen in previous years.

Meanwhile, Amjad Hossain, who is in charge of the forest department in the Rangamati court, said that as per the court's directive, 16 cases were settled in December last, 13 in January and 9 in February. In the Sadar Range, 38 cases have been filed in three months from December 25 to February this year. The convicts have been convicted in the case.

During the six months of the financial year 2019-20 Forest department have been able to seize 10,000 cubic feet of Teak, Gamari and Koroi wood species, and 15 engine-powered boats and minitruck. Earlier, the South Forest Department authorities in 2018-19 fiscal year seized about 13,000 cubic feet of Teak, Gamari and  Koroi wood species, and seized 20 engine-powered boats and mini truck in an effort to prevent the smuggling of illegal timber.

Sadar Range Range Officer Mosharraf Hossain, who is in charge of managing the forest department's case, said, I have been assigned to conduct cases in the court for only six months. In the six months, the conviction of more than 150 accused in the 60 cases has been confirmed by the court. Among the accused are many from political leaders to influential people.

‘I have worked in different districts of the country during my life. But in Rangamati alone there was no political interference or major pressure. We have received all kinds of support from the army, BGB, police, Ansar Battalion and the highest level of our forest department, including the political leaders here. As a result, I have been able to give the court the information it needs, for prosecuting government forest and natural forest destroyers, handing them over to the court and handling the cases properly.

In that light, the court confirmed the conviction.

He added that many residents of the hills did not cooperate in the past, but now the awareness of the people has increased many times more than ever due to the extensive awareness programs implemented by the forest department. So we too get the right information from the locals at the right time.

Accordingly, with the help of the local administration, I was able to catch the goons of the forest destroyer and their punishment was also confirmed. Increasing awareness among the locals about protecting their wealth will save them as much as the forest deforestation, he said.

   

Dhaka is the sixth most polluted city in the world, Seoul is on top



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
Photo: Collected

Photo: Collected

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Today, Dhaka is sixth in the list of the most polluted cities in the world. The air quality of the capital has become 'unhealthy' with an Air Quality Index (AQI) score of 172 at 6:50 am today.

South Korea's capital Seoul topped the air quality index with 343. South Korea's Incheon, Pakistan's Lahore, Vietnam's Chiang Mai and India's Delhi occupy the second, third, fourth and fifth places in the list with AQI scores of 217, 187, 179 and 177 respectively.

An AQI score between 101 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' for sensitive groups. An AQI score between 201 and 300 is considered 'very unhealthy'. And an AQI between 301 and 400 is considered 'hazardous', posing a serious health risk to residents.

AQI in Bangladesh is determined based on 5 parameters of pollution, namely - Particulate Matter (PM10 & PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2 and Ozone (O3).

Dhaka has been suffering from air pollution for a long time. Its air quality generally becomes unhealthy during winters and improves slightly during monsoons.

In March 2019, a report by the Department of Environment and the World Bank stated that the three main causes of Dhaka's air pollution are brick kilns, smoke from vehicles and dust from construction activities.

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Taka 400 crores laundered through digital Hundi, controlled by Dubai



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com
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Photo: Collected

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Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested 5 people for allegedly laundering around Tk. 400 crore abroad through Digital Hundi using Mobile Banking Service (MFS).

CID Chief Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia informed this in a press conference at CID headquarters on Thursday (March 28) afternoon.

The arrested are - Nasim Ahmed (62), the owner of Tasmia Associates, Fazle Rabbi Sumon (32), the territory sales manager of Agent SIM, Md. Kamruzzaman (33), Zahir Uddin (37), representative of Jet Robotics Apps Bangladesh and Khairul Islam alias Pius (34).

Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia said, a gang has smuggled around Tk. 400 crore abroad through digital Hundi using mobile banking services. Five members of this gang were arrested during the operation.

He said that Tk. 400 crores illegally came to Bangladesh through Jet Robotics app in the last few months. Police traced the app through intelligence.

He also said that the money of this gang was transacted from the Chattogram based distribution house. Five members of the gang were arrested in separate raids in Dhaka and Chattogram on Wednesday night.

He said that Tk. 28 lakh 51 thousand cash was seized from them at the time of arrest. He said that they used to rent development agent SIMS and deliver money through them to the grassroots level.

The head of CID said that Mamun, the master of this gang lives in Dubai. He is using agent SIM here. This app used for smuggling cannot work outside 48 SIM along the specific link sent from Dubai. Only seven people can enter this app.

Referring to this as a modern form of Hundi business, he said, money is being circulated in the country through this app by blocking remittances coming to Bangladesh. Already we got 5-7 more such organizations who are working like this.

He said, in the last three months, Tk. 400 crores have been hindered from coming to Bangladesh through Jet Robotic Apps. Five people using these apps have been arrested and their devices seized.

He said, Chattogram's development distribution house Tasmia Associates company has 1000 Bkash Agent SIMs. These agent SIMs who are not performing well, the agent SIMs provide DSOs to the users of Jet Robotic Apps.

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Demand for punishment for those responsible for electrocution death in Moulvibazar



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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The death of 6 members of the same family due to electrocution in Moulvibazar is very shocking and heartbreaking. The chairman of the National Human Rights Commission Dr. Kamaluddin Ahmed said that the main responsible person and institution should be brought under accountability.

He made this comment at a discussion on 'Role of Media in Protection of Human Rights and Consumer Rights' organized by 'Business Digest' at a hotel in the capital on Thursday (March 28).

The Chairman of the Human Rights Commission said, after investigating the incident of Moulvibazar, appropriate legal action should be taken against those responsible and necessary measures should be taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. We could not do anything for one family, but we have to do for hundreds of such families.

He also said that the issue of rights is directly and indirectly the daily practice of the media. Media can question all the irregularities; make people aware of their rights and duties and play an important role in establishing rights. We can carry out reformative activities only in view of the news published in the media.

Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed called on the media workers to take all-out efforts to spread the necessary knowledge about the constitution, law and rights among the people.

At one stage of the discussion, he said about the recurrence of fires, we have not learned proper lessons from the big fires and explosions in Nimatli, Newmarket and Bangabazar in the past years. Had we taken effective measures, recurrence of fires could have been prevented.

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Suggestion to introduce Human Rights Wing in the Foreign Ministry



Staff Correspondent, Barta24.com, Dhaka
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Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recommended setting up a new wing on human rights to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The suggestion was made at the parliamentary committee meeting held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhavan on Thursday (March 28). After the meeting, this information was informed in a press release of the Parliament Secretariat.

The meeting recommended taking necessary steps to recognize March 25 as International Genocide Day. A proposal was made in the meeting to visit the Rohingya camps Kutupalong and Bhasanchar with the members of the Standing Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Chairman of the committee AK Abdul Momen chaired the meeting and members of the committee and Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, Shahriar Alam, Nahim Razzak, Nizam Uddin Jalil, Nurul Islam Nahid, Habibur Rahman, Saimum Sarwar, Zara Zabeen Mahbub took part in the meeting. #

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