Bagerhat Correspondent :
As many as 17 fire incidents took place in the Eastern Division of Sundarban forest causing huge damage to forest resources on some 60 acres of forest land during the last one decade (from the year 2002 to 2014 year) , official sources said.
Any satisfactory step was taken by the Forest Department to prevent the repeated fire incidents in the Eastern Division of Sundarban forest. After every fire incident the authorities of the Eastern Division of Sundarban forest form a committee consisting of their favourite officials to investigate into the matter. That report is sent to the higher authorities in order to avoid themselves (authorities of the Eastern Division of Sundarbans) from their responsibilities. The last fire incident took place at Baisherchilla area under Chandpai Forest Range in the Eastern Division of the forest on May 21 and it continued for long three days and during the period various trees and plants of about 10 acres of forest lands were gutted.
Though the fire incidents took place repeatedly in Sundarban forest the department (forest) has no fire extinguishing water or floating vessel to save the world heritage and the biggest mangrove forest of the world. So, if a forest conflagration takes place in the forest in a large scale the biggest mangrove forest of the world and the world heritage will be badly damaged and our pride Royal Bengal Tiger and some other wild animals which are on the verge of extinction will be totally disappeared from Sundarbans for ever.
It is also noticed that in the dry season fishermen who go to dead Bhola river areas under Sharankhola and Chandpai forest ranges to catch Shing, Kai, Magur etc. fishes of sweet water make their entry paths or ways clean after setting fire on the forest in preplanned ways. Those were mentioned in the investigation reports, but they were not identified and there is no instance of taking any punitive action against those fishermen or forest resource collectors who are responsible for the fire incidents. But after talking with the people of the adjacent areas of the forest and some people who wholly depend on the forest that there are some unknown stories behind the fire incidents.
