Sitakunda Jungle Salimpur : The case of mountain cutting, power cut

MESBAH KHALED.

The Department of Environment has filed a case against six people, including Paharkheko Yachin Mia of Salimpur Alinagar, Sitakunda forest, for the crime of indiscriminate cutting of hills. On the other hand, PDB disconnected the electricity from Alinagar in Jangal Salimpur. Last Tuesday, Research Officer of Department of Environment, Chittagong. Ashraf Uddin filed the case as plaintiff. At the same time, 30-35 other people have been made anonymous accused.

The accused are Md. Ward No. 1 of Salimpur Union of Sitakunda, Jungle Salimpur Alinagar. Son of Shamchul Haque. Yashin (55) and Md. Farooq (40), son of Shah Alam. Sajib (38), Hossain Ali's son Nurul Islam (55), Abdul Malek's son Shahajahan (45) and Md. Farooq's son Al Amin (35).

According to the affidavit of the case, the defendants have illegally cut and removed hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of soil from hills and hills in Salimpur Alinagar forest under Ward No. 1 of Salimpur Union of the upazila without any permission from the Department of Environment. District Administration Executive Magistrate said last Friday. The operation was conducted under the leadership of Ashraful Alam. Evidence of indiscriminate mountain cutting was found in the raid. At this time, six drum trucks, one truck and three excavators were seized.

At that time, the people involved in cutting the mountain ran away, but it can be confirmed that the mountain was being cut under the leadership of the above persons. As a result, this morning the research officer of the Department of Environment, Chittagong. Ashraf Uddin filed a case in Sitakunda police station as the plaintiff.

On the other hand, Yashin was remanded for one day by the police on Monday in the case of picking up and attacking a UP member of Salimpur who was with the administration's convoy on July 15.

Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Sitakunda Police Station. Abul Kalam Azad confirmed the case and said that a case has been filed by the Department of Environment due to the destruction of hills in Alinagar. Among the accused in the case, five accused including Yashin are already arrested in the case of attacking UP member. Another accused Sajeev is absconding. Attempts are being made to arrest him.

Meanwhile, the PDB disconnected the electricity connection in Alinagar of Jangal Salimpur after the instructions of the Land Minister. Alinagar has been without electricity since Tuesday. The concerned engineer of Sholshahar Power Distribution Office said that electricity connection will not be provided here. Electricity poles and power cables were taken away from Ali Nagar by the PDB men of Sholashar sub station after disconnecting the electricity.

On July 24, Lands Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed visited Jungle Salipur area. There he announced that jungle Salimpur will be freed from land grabbers and ordered to disconnect illegal electricity connection from here.

In this regard, Aceland Ashraful Alam of Sitakunda Upazila said that after the order of the Minister of Lands, the electricity connection was disconnected from that day. Now the electricity poles and wires are being taken by the people of PDB's Sholshahar sub station.

According to the sources of the Sholshahar Electricity Distribution Office, the electricity department has brought the electricity poles and power lines from the boundary of Alinagar started in Jungle Salimpur.

It is noted that Yashin was the undeclared king of Ali Nagar in Salimpur forest of Sitakunda. Two decades ago, Alinagar Empire came from Noakhali and built the jungle of Sitakunda on the bottomless hills of Salimpur. Yashin became a millionaire overnight by cutting mountains day and night, making plots and selling plots for millions of taka.

Recently the government has planned some big activities in Khas Zamin of Jungle Salimpur. Accordingly, some MPs including Information Minister, Land Minister, City Mayor and various levels of government officials visited this area several times. Enraged by that, Yasin Bahini beat up a local UP member with a firearm on his chest in front of the government officials on July 15. Then Yasin and his younger brother Farooq came to the discussion. When a case was filed in this incident, he was arrested by the Sitakunda police station with the help of the district intelligence police from the Kotwali police station area of ​​Chittagong on July 18 and the police brought him to a one-day remand on Monday.

Later, the district administration conducted a raid in Alinagar. In the operation, the administration seized three soil-cutting excavators, 6 drum trucks and 1 big truck.

khaled / postcard;