Century-old banyan tree saved by Sherpur DC Farida Yasmin's intervention
Sherpur Correspondent
An initiative to chop down a traditional, century-old banyan tree for an Eidgah field renovation project has been halted following the direct intervention of Sherpur Deputy Commissioner Farida Yasmin.
The move to fell the historic tree, located at the Chhotor Jhauer Char Namapara Old Eidgah ground in Lachmanpur union under Sadar upazila, came to light after an advertisement announcing the decision was publicly posted on a local Facebook page. The post triggered widespread criticism and intense protests from local environmental preservation activists and various sections of civil society.
Faced with the situation, environmentalists brought the matter to the attention of the Deputy Commissioner, who immediately tasked the Sadar UNO with investigating the issue.
An administrative inquiry revealed that both the Eidgah field and the banyan tree are situated on approximately eight decimals of land belonging to a Waqf property. Following the discovery, Sadar UNO Asma Binte Rofiq contacted the local Union Parishad (UP) chairman and village dignitaries to officially halt the tree-felling initiative.
"The local representatives and committee members have assured us that the tree will no longer be cut down," UNO Asma Binte Rofiq said.
DC Farida Yasmin said, "As soon as the public notice along with the photograph of the tree came to the attention of the locals, they informed me of the matter. I subsequently instructed the Sadar UNO to take immediate administrative steps to preserve the tree."
