A Correspondent :
“Hills are the beauty of Chattogram city. It is possible to develop the city by saving the hills. The way of making road by cutting 300 feet hills by a government organization like CDA is not acceptable in anyway.”
Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said this as the Chief Guest on the second day of the two-day reunion of alumni at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences of Chittagong University (CU) on Saturday.
The Vice Chancellor of the university Dr Shirin Akhtar presided over the reunion of alumni held at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences premises on Saturday at 10:30 am.
Dr Hasan Mahmud said, once the hills of Chittagong University were treeless. We used to plant trees in the hills then. I also worked at the university as a job student.
“Eleven years ago, the total area covered by the tree of Bangladesh was below 19 percent. Now it is more than 24 percent. But in the last eleven years, people and settlements have increased, two lanes roads have became four lanes, and the industry has grown. The reason of the increase in the amount of trees in Bangladesh, a sense of planting trees has awakened in the people. ‘
He said that the initiative taken by the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences for forestry during the Mujib Year is praiseworthy. I want to plant a tree in the name of the each newborn born at Chittagong University.
Besides, a specific area should be provided for planting tree. Chittagong University will be the first authority to do so. Many universities may want it but cannot do it because of the shortage of places. But this is possible at Chittagong University. I left this proposal to you today.
Dr Hasan Mahmud said, “I was a chemistry student at the university. Although it is not as fun as it sounds. So later I did a PhD in environmental science. Due to political busyness I was not been able to be a teacher. Yet I still teach part-time at Dhaka University.
The minister said that due to human actions, the temperature in the world before the industrial revolution has risen to 1 degree Celsius after the industrial revolution. The fires in Australia, the summer heat in Siberia, the fires and floods in various parts of Africa, the floods in Pakistan, thus the unusual phenomenon that is happening all over the world are just because of that rise of one degree Celsius.
“If the promises made by different countries to the Paris Agreement are to be implemented, then the temperature could be 3 to 4 degrees Celsius. We can easily conceivable what danger is waiting for us in the future. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world on that list. ‘
He said that in my ancestral home I never saw water rising up. But I found that tidal water was stuck in the drain of my house. The reason for the tide-water is coming to various places in Chattogram city is the sea level rise.
‘There are 8.7 million species in the world. But due to human actions, 150 species are becoming extinct every day. If this trend continues, it will become a major threat to mankind at one time. “”Those who are studying in the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences will look after these issues in our country, he said.
Therefore, they have to work on these issues in the interest of the country and in the interest of the people. Otherwise, like the dinosaurs, the second and third stages of the animal have disappeared, and we will end up in the fourth step. You have to work by keeping that in mind,” the minister said.
The minister said Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world. More than 1100 people live per square kilometer. In Bangladesh, the per capita cultivable land is the lowest in the world. Yet Bangladesh is self-sufficient in food by surprise of the world.
Dr Hasan Mahmud said, keeping in mind the next 50 years, I am requesting taking up a project worth Tk 1000 Crores for Chittagong University. This initiative should be taken to enhance and preserve the natural beauty of this university.
“Tk 1000 crore worth project for Rajshahi University and Tk 800 crore worth project for Jahangirnagar University has been taken. Following that, there might be bigger project for Chittagong University. There are very few universities in the world with such natural beauty like this university. So, the beauty of this university cannot be destroyed by building a structure.”
The Information Minister welcomed the forestry initiative taken by the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences to make Chittagong University more beautiful.
“Hills are the beauty of Chattogram city. It is possible to develop the city by saving the hills. The way of making road by cutting 300 feet hills by a government organization like CDA is not acceptable in anyway.”
Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said this as the Chief Guest on the second day of the two-day reunion of alumni at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences of Chittagong University (CU) on Saturday.
The Vice Chancellor of the university Dr Shirin Akhtar presided over the reunion of alumni held at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences premises on Saturday at 10:30 am.
Dr Hasan Mahmud said, once the hills of Chittagong University were treeless. We used to plant trees in the hills then. I also worked at the university as a job student.
“Eleven years ago, the total area covered by the tree of Bangladesh was below 19 percent. Now it is more than 24 percent. But in the last eleven years, people and settlements have increased, two lanes roads have became four lanes, and the industry has grown. The reason of the increase in the amount of trees in Bangladesh, a sense of planting trees has awakened in the people. ‘
He said that the initiative taken by the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences for forestry during the Mujib Year is praiseworthy. I want to plant a tree in the name of the each newborn born at Chittagong University.
Besides, a specific area should be provided for planting tree. Chittagong University will be the first authority to do so. Many universities may want it but cannot do it because of the shortage of places. But this is possible at Chittagong University. I left this proposal to you today.
Dr Hasan Mahmud said, “I was a chemistry student at the university. Although it is not as fun as it sounds. So later I did a PhD in environmental science. Due to political busyness I was not been able to be a teacher. Yet I still teach part-time at Dhaka University.
The minister said that due to human actions, the temperature in the world before the industrial revolution has risen to 1 degree Celsius after the industrial revolution. The fires in Australia, the summer heat in Siberia, the fires and floods in various parts of Africa, the floods in Pakistan, thus the unusual phenomenon that is happening all over the world are just because of that rise of one degree Celsius.
“If the promises made by different countries to the Paris Agreement are to be implemented, then the temperature could be 3 to 4 degrees Celsius. We can easily conceivable what danger is waiting for us in the future. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world on that list. ‘
He said that in my ancestral home I never saw water rising up. But I found that tidal water was stuck in the drain of my house. The reason for the tide-water is coming to various places in Chattogram city is the sea level rise.
‘There are 8.7 million species in the world. But due to human actions, 150 species are becoming extinct every day. If this trend continues, it will become a major threat to mankind at one time. “”Those who are studying in the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences will look after these issues in our country, he said.
Therefore, they have to work on these issues in the interest of the country and in the interest of the people. Otherwise, like the dinosaurs, the second and third stages of the animal have disappeared, and we will end up in the fourth step. You have to work by keeping that in mind,” the minister said.
The minister said Bangladesh is the most densely populated country in the world. More than 1100 people live per square kilometer. In Bangladesh, the per capita cultivable land is the lowest in the world. Yet Bangladesh is self-sufficient in food by surprise of the world.
Dr Hasan Mahmud said, keeping in mind the next 50 years, I am requesting taking up a project worth Tk 1000 Crores for Chittagong University. This initiative should be taken to enhance and preserve the natural beauty of this university.
“Tk 1000 crore worth project for Rajshahi University and Tk 800 crore worth project for Jahangirnagar University has been taken. Following that, there might be bigger project for Chittagong University. There are very few universities in the world with such natural beauty like this university. So, the beauty of this university cannot be destroyed by building a structure.”
The Information Minister welcomed the forestry initiative taken by the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences to make Chittagong University more beautiful.
