Leaders of Mahilara Union Water Management Society, an organisation, which has been tasked with looking after the trees, alleged that local Awami League leaders and activists with the collaboration of union chairman have sold those trees to local traders without maintaining proper procedure of auction and informing them. According to Barisal LGRD office sources, the organisation planted over 7,000 trees on two sides of Biswhogram-Jongalpotti road in 2003. Md Anowar Hossain, president of Mahilara Union Water Management Society, said: “Local Awami League leaders and UP Chairman Soikot Guho Piklu have sold over thousands of trees to local traders without informing them.”He also alleged that the chairman had taken a good amount of money from the trader in the name of union parishad. However, Soikot Guho Piklu, chairman of Mahilara union, denied the allegation and said: “Anowar and his supporters trying to tarnish my image spreading rumors.”Monindronath Haldar, forest officer of Gournadi upazila, said: “We do not know anything about cutting roadside trees even no one informed us about this.”

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 25, 2016 18:56 UTC