'Reserve forest reserved for thieves'

They are running their illegal activities in connivance with a section of forest officials and law enforcers, local people alleged.

Scores of valuable trees like Sundary, Kewra, Garan, Karai are being taken away from reserve forests in Fatrar ban, Char Gangamoti, Sonar Char, Nishan Baria and Kaschopakhali lake every night. These are loaded in trawlers and sent to different places of the country including Dhaka and Chittagong. Parts of these are also sold at nearby sawmills.

Forest officials sometimes recover timber and arrest people, but this is only an eyewash, they alleged.

When contacted, sources at Patuakhali Forest Division said they are trying their best to stop the illegal felling of trees.

"On 17 February we recovered about 500 cft Sundary timber from three trawlers and arrest 15 people from Kalagachia in Pathakhali-Galachipa waterway route", one official said.