Halda Valley Tea Garden Accused of Cutting Hillocks to Fill Land in Fatikchhari
The authorities of Halda Valley Tea Garden in Fatikchhari, Chittagong, have been accused of cutting hills and hillocks under the cover of darkness and filling land without permission from the Department of Environment. When a journalist sought information about the incident, the garden’s manager, MA Kashem, allegedly behaved rudely.
The upazila administration has said it follows a zero-tolerance policy against hill cutting and will take prompt action over the allegations. Local residents alleged that an excavator was used to cut a hillock and remove soil beside the tea garden’s factory in Idilpur area of Narayanhat Union late on the night of October 22.
According to local sources, red soil was excavated from a hillock beside the factory under the cover of darkness. The soil was allegedly used to fill a piece of agricultural land several hundred feet behind the garden manager’s bungalow. Locals claimed that the site where the hillock was cut had been covered with ash, while the land filled with red soil had been covered with sand.
A resident of Halda Valley Tea Garden, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the garden authorities had carried out the work without permission from the Department of Environment. The resident also alleged that similar activities had taken place in different parts of the garden before.
When asked about the allegations, Halda Valley Tea Garden Manager MA Kashem allegedly behaved rudely with this correspondent. He said, “The entire Halda Valley Tea Garden is hilly. Besides, the Department of Social Services has asked us to build six houses. So, the land is being filled.”
However, when asked whether permission had been obtained from the Department of Environment or the upazila administration, he ended the phone call. Research Officer Mohammad Ashraf Uddin of the Department of Environment’s Chattogram district office was contacted several times for comment, but he did not answer the calls.
Fatikchhari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Saeed Mohammad Ibrahim said, “The administration has a zero-tolerance policy regarding hill and hillock cutting. We have been informed about the matter. Necessary action will be taken soon.”
It may be mentioned that the authorities of Halda Valley Tea Garden were previously fined over allegations of cutting a hill to excavate a canal inside the garden.
