Photo : Collected
The fire that broke out in the Sundarbans on Saturday is still not fully doused. The Forest Department has claimed that the fire has come under control to some extent but it still continues.
Kazi Nurul Karim, divisional forest officer of the Sundarbans, said that although the work of dousing the fire did not start on Saturday due to various difficulties, it started on Sunday (May 5) morning. “In addition to the fire service, the navy, coast guard and an air force helicopter as well as local residents provided all kinds of support.”
Karim said that the exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined. “The locals are giving varying information. Taking all the information into account, a three-member investigation committee headed by Sundarbans Chandpai Range Assistant Conservator Rana Dev has been constituted.”
With the latest one, there have been 32 fire incidents in the Sundarbans in 22 years. An investigation committee was formed to investigate the cause and assess the amount of damage each time. However, the investigation reports and recommendations to avoid accidents were not implemented. As a result, there are fires in the forest at regular intervals.
About 90 acres of forest land was burnt in fires in these 22 years. On March 22, 2002, when a fire broke out, almost an acre of sungrass forest was burnt. Then on March 25 and December 27, 2004, four acres of forest area were burnt. In 2005, 10 acres of forest area were burnt.
In 2007, about 15 acres of forest land were burnt in three different fire incidents. On March 20, 2010, about five acres of forest were burnt. Later in March 2011, about three and a half acres of forest were burnt. About 10 acres of forest land were burnt in the fire on March 25, 2014. In 2016, 8.5 acres of forest area were burnt.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the area of the Sundarbans was twice that of the present. At present, the size of the Bangladesh part is 6,017 square kilometres, which is 51 per cent of the country's protected forest land. There are numerous rivers in the Sundarbans, creating tides two times in every 24 hours.
Chairman of Save the Sundarbans Foundation Sheikh Faridul Islam said, “In order to protect the Sundarbans from fire, the activities of the forest guards should be increased to prevent violence perpetrated by criminals.” He also demanded action against dishonest forest officials.
Messenger/Fameema
