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Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (BAPA) claimed on Wednesday that the recent Sundarbans fire incidents were both man-made and premeditated.
Corrupt officials from the forest department and administration colluded with the fishing syndicate to cause the fire, while perpetrators evade accountability due to the negligence of responsible authorities, they said while presenting a monitoring report at a press conference in the capital’s Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
In the press conference, titled “Recurring Fires in the Sundarbans: Causes and Remedies,” BAPA presented 15 recommendations to stop the Sundarbans fires.
BAPA Joint Secretary Noor AlamShekh described his on-site inspection experience of the fire incident, stating that there have been 25 to 26 fires in the Sundarbans over the past 24 years, destroyingapproximately a hundred acres of government-owned forest land.
Due to the complicity of profit-driven fishing syndicates and corrupt forest officials, fires are repeatedly occurring in the Sundarbans; therefore, the forest department must take responsibility, he said.
Noor AlamShekh further said that ignoring the opinions of local communities, environmentalists, journalists, researchers, and experts, failing to implement the recommendations of past investigative committees and failing to curb previous incidents have led to another fire in the SundarbansAmurbunia area after four years.
He alleged that the forest department's indifference delayed firefighting efforts during the Amurbunia fire, resulting in approximately 5 acres of forest land being burnt.
Therefore, the forest department, local people, the government, and relevant stakeholders must act promptly to protect the Sundarbans, he added.
Sheikh also emphasized the necessity of suspending profit-driven business and commerce activities in the Sundarbans, saying that due to the complexity of the Amurbunia fire incident, it is impossible to uncover the root cause through the investigative committee.
Therefore, to uncover the underlying causes of the Sundarbans' human-induced fire incidents and to halt such heinous acts, a joint investigation committee comprising members of the forest department, law enforcement agencies, environmentalists, Sundarbans researchers and experts, local representatives, journalists, and civil society must be formed, he added.
Presenting the keynote address at the conference, Dr Abdullah HarunChowdhury, a professor of Environmental Science at Khulna University, questioned why fires are occurring repeatedly in the Amurbunia, Dhansagar, Nangli, and Rajapur areas.
Despite the forest department forming investigative committees several times in the past, no perpetrators have been arrested, he added.
Professor Dr Mohammad Abdul Quader, chairman of the Department of Geography and Environment at Jagannath University, BAPA's Vice President MohidulHoque Khan, BAPA's General Secretary AlamgirKabir, and BAPA's Treasurer ZakirHossain were also present.
