Over 50 trees uprooted at JU, sparking protests

Over 50 trees have been uprooted at Jahangirnagar University for the construction of an extended building under the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, triggering protests by student organizations demanding accountability and environmental responsibility. The trees were removed with excavators around 10am on Monday by workers from a contracting company. A group of students from the

Over 50 trees have been uprooted at Jahangirnagar University for the construction of an extended building under the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, triggering protests by student organizations demanding accountability and environmental responsibility.

The trees were removed with excavators around 10am on Monday by workers from a contracting company.

A group of students from the faculty was present at the time.

Upon hearing about the tree uprooting, members of the university units of the Bangladesh Students’ Union, Students’ Front, and Cultural Alliance rushed to the site and staged a protest.

At around 12:30pm, Vice-Chancellor Prof Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan and Project Director Nasir Uddin, along with several other faculty members, arrived at the scene.

In response to questions from students, they said that they were unaware of who had authorized the removal of the trees.

Following the vice-chancellor’s instruction, the work was halted, though by then, more than 50 trees had already been uprooted.

Nasir said: “I was not informed about this. Nor did I give any form of permission to the contractor. They must provide valid reasons and explanations for this.”

Kamrul said: “Our decision was that the location for construction would be determined in consultation with whoever is awarded the master-plan tender. While a building is necessary, so is environmental preservation.”

He added: “Yet the trees were uprooted without my knowledge. We will hold an administrative meeting today to look into the matter.”

The workers responsible were from the contractor firm Mahbub Brothers. Speaking to the media over the phone, the firm’s manager, Abdul Aziz, admitted it was wrong to begin work without consulting the university administration.

“A few days ago, Abu Rumman, a student of the Mathematics Department and vice president of the Mathematics Student Council, called me and said all issues had been resolved and that I should send workers. Based on that, I sent the workers today,” he said.

When asked about it, Rumman said: “We are, first of all, against felling trees. But our department faces a severe shortage of classrooms, labs, and even space for teachers.”

He added: “We have no proper walkways. To keep our academic activities running smoothly, we need the new building — even if that means minimal harm to the environment.”

According to university sources, on April 20, trees in front of the Environmental Sciences Department were fenced off with tin sheets as a preparatory step for construction.

However, the plan was stalled following student objections, since no master plan had yet been drawn up.

Recently, the vice-chancellor informed students that tenders for the master plan would be invited, and construction would be carried out according to expert recommendations.

The extended building for the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences was to be built accordingly, but trees were removed prematurely.

Meanwhile, students held a protest march on campus in response to the uprooting of trees in front of the CSE building, which they said defied government show-cause notices and violated administrative promises.

The march began around 4pm from Battala and circled the university’s registrar building, passing the Shaheed Minar before ending opposite the CSE building.

Speaking at a brief rally following the march, Srot, a student of the 49th batch, said: “Since coming to this campus, we have been voicing the same demand year after year. Yet the administration continues to cut trees to construct buildings without addressing our concerns.”

He added: “We have repeatedly called for all construction to follow a master plan. The current vice-chancellor had remarked during the construction of the IBA building under former VC Nurul’s tenure that even if a leaf moves on this campus, the VC knows. Yet, during his own tenure, over 40 trees were felled.”