CoU Correspondent :
The Comilla University authority is raising and cutting hills and hillocks, violating the environmental law, to build teachers’ club -cum -guest house despite serving show- cause notice by the Department of Environment.
According to Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 (Amended in 2000), cutting hills without having approval from the environment authorities is prohibited.
A recent visit by this reporter found that nearly half of the hill on the west side of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hall of the university has already been cut off and rest was under process even without any concern of the Department of Environment.
Earlier on January 8, Environment Department, Cumilla Chapter, served a show cause notice to the university authority, asking why legal actions wouldn’t be taken against them,for razing some part of another hill on the north side of the central field unlawfully to increase its’ size.
Concerns fear landslides on the campus can happen at any time for this folly action of the authority.
“We felt proud having a campus of lateritic soils’ hill. But the authority is obliterating our glory and shoving us to calamities as the hills can collapse at anytime,” said Md Nurul Mostafa, a fourth year student of Pharmacy Department.
A teacher of the university, seeking anonymity, said that the authority should had shown respect to the country’s law.
They can’t do such an indiscreet act in the name of development, he released his anger.
“We took mud from the hill to fill up the low-level of thebuilding as it needed equilibrium,” said Jahangir Alam, contractor of the Teachers Club-Cum Guest House.
The Comilla University authority is raising and cutting hills and hillocks, violating the environmental law, to build teachers’ club -cum -guest house despite serving show- cause notice by the Department of Environment.
According to Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 (Amended in 2000), cutting hills without having approval from the environment authorities is prohibited.
A recent visit by this reporter found that nearly half of the hill on the west side of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hall of the university has already been cut off and rest was under process even without any concern of the Department of Environment.
Earlier on January 8, Environment Department, Cumilla Chapter, served a show cause notice to the university authority, asking why legal actions wouldn’t be taken against them,for razing some part of another hill on the north side of the central field unlawfully to increase its’ size.
Concerns fear landslides on the campus can happen at any time for this folly action of the authority.
“We felt proud having a campus of lateritic soils’ hill. But the authority is obliterating our glory and shoving us to calamities as the hills can collapse at anytime,” said Md Nurul Mostafa, a fourth year student of Pharmacy Department.
A teacher of the university, seeking anonymity, said that the authority should had shown respect to the country’s law.
They can’t do such an indiscreet act in the name of development, he released his anger.
“We took mud from the hill to fill up the low-level of thebuilding as it needed equilibrium,” said Jahangir Alam, contractor of the Teachers Club-Cum Guest House.
Asked if they had approval letter of the Environment Department to raze the hill, he kept mum.
However,the university registrar(in-charge) Professor Md. Abu Taher refuted the allegation and saidthat they didn’t instruct thecontractor to remove soil from the hill.
No excavation has been done in the hill, he added.
Environment Department, Cumilla Instructor Md. Nazrul Islam said that they would take legal action against the authority if the allegations were found true.
