Roads and Highways Dept removes illegal vegetable plots from Dhaka-Ctg highway dividers, plants trees
In the first phase, vegetable plots have already been removed from dividers along several stretches between Sitakunda and Dhumghat in Mirsharai.
The Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has begun removing illegally cultivated vegetable plots from dividers along the Sitakunda and Mirsarai sections of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway and planting trees in their place.
In the first phase, plots have been cleared from several stretches between Sitakunda and Dhumghat in Mirsarai, with more than 150 flowering saplings planted in the cleared areas.
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The move followed a 27 September report by The Business Standard revealing that trees planted along nearly 70km of highway dividers had been cut or damaged to make way for illegal vegetable cultivation.
RHD officials used loudspeakers on Sunday to ask cultivators to remove their crops voluntarily and warned against further cultivation or damage to roadside trees.
Teams subsequently cleared vegetable plots at different locations on Monday and Tuesday. The drive is continuing in phases.
Chattogram RHD Executive Engineer Md Maidul Islam told TBS that the department took action following reports published by TBS and other media.
"Many cultivators removed their vegetables themselves within a day after the announcement. We removed what remained. The drive will continue in phases, while new trees will also be planted in the cleared areas," he said.
The earlier TBS report found that large sections of the highway dividers had been turned into vegetable plots, with spinach, beans, aubergines, gourds, chillies and other crops grown after landscaping trees were cut or damaged.
Bamboo structures had also been erected in some places to support climbing vegetables.
At the time, Maidul Islam told TBS that although certain unused departmental land could be leased under the Land Management Policy 2015, highway dividers could not be used for private purposes.
According to RHD, more than 50,000 flowering trees were planted along different stretches of the highway in 2016 for greenery, beautification and shade.
Many were subsequently cut or damaged as illegal cultivation spread.
RHD officials said trees would gradually be replanted along the nearly 70km Sitakunda-Mirsarai stretch, while monitoring would be strengthened to prevent further damage.
