The investigation committee formed into the fire incident at Lawachara National Park in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar has submitted their report to the office of the Divisional Forest Officer. They have blamed negligence on the part of 3 employees and officers in charge.
Mirza Mehdi Sarwar, Chief Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Officer of the investigation committee, confirmed that they submitted the report on Wednesday noon.
The inquiry committee has mentioned 10 points in its report, out of which points 7 and 8 state that the evidence of intentionally causing the fire was not found but the departmental forest officer had earlier instructed that no dirt or weeds should be set on fire in the forest, which had been disobeyed.
The responsibility for this incident has been given to 3 people of the forest department. One of them is Motahar Hossain, the Forest Ranger of Baghmara camp. Motahar Hossain was in charge of supervising the workers while they were clearing the weeds. But after the fire broke out, he did not take any initiative to put it out and did not inform his superiors. Allegedly, he could not even say how the fire started.
Mizanur Rahman, a bit officer of Lawachara, has a similar responsibility in this case. He also did not take any action in case of fire. Moeeover, his lack of supervision of the workers who were working that day and the overall incident including the fire incident has been tested in the investigation of the investigation committee.
On the other hand, another associate member of the forest department (community patrol team) Md. Mohsin, although he was responsible for supervising the work, moved away from the scene during or after the fire. He did not take any initiative to put out the fire and also did not address the issue to the higher authorities.
The investigation committee blamed the three for various reasons including not fulfilling their responsibilities, leaving the scene without trying to extinguish the fire and not informing the higher authorities.
The three of them were on duty at the spot but the Divisional Forest Officer came to know about the incident from another source and immediately directed Lawachara Range Officer Shahidul Islam to put out the fire immediately.
Kamalganj Fire Service got the news through the Divisional Forest Officer. The fire was brought under control through the joint efforts of the Forest Department and the Fire Service. According to the report, the time of the fire was 12:30 to 1:00 pm and the fire was extinguished within 2:20 to 2:30 pm
At the same time, the investigation committee mentioned in their report that the fire started from the forest. One and a half acres of land was burnt but no big tree was burnt. Through afforestation and when it rains new trees will grow naturally in the forest.
The committee has made a number of recommendations, one of which is to increase supervision over the staff of the forest department. Naturally occurring trees and herbs need to be taken care of. Gas lights or matches should not be kept during forest development work while firefighting equipment must be carried. In addition, the number of the nearby fire station must be stored for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Divisional Forest Officer Rezaul Karim Chowdhury said action would be taken against the three for negligence in carrying out their duties.
He said, “I have received the report. Action will be taken accordingly. I will contact my higher authorities and take action against these 3 people as per the rules of the forest department. It is certain that no one's negligence will be tolerated here.”
It may be mentioned that on April 24, some workers were working in Baghmara area next to the student dormitory part of Lawachara. They were working under the forest department to clear the weeds and to plant fruit trees for the wildlife. The fire started at around 12 noon and was brought under control by the forest department and fire service at around 3 pm. The forest department formed a two-member committee to investigate the incident.