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A plan has been taken to construct a new six-storeyed building by cutting trees on the lake bank of the extension of Jahangirnagar University (JAB) Al Beruni Hall. If the building is constructed at that place, there is a risk of cutting down at least two hundred trees. It is believed that the migration of migratory birds that come to Jabir Lake every winter will be threatened. Meanwhile, the students have expressed their anger that the construction of this building was approved without a master plan.
According to project sources, departmental teachers want to transform the fine arts department of the university into a faculty. For this purpose, a plan has been taken to construct the faculty building with the joint funding of India-Bangladesh. For this reason, the location of the extension of Al Beruni Hall has been determined. Out of Tk 97 crore allocated for the construction of the building, Tk 47,89,17,000 will be financed by the Government of Bangladesh and the remaining Tk by the Government of India.
When asked about the construction of buildings by cutting trees without a master plan, project director and associate professor of art department M. M. Moyezuddin said, there are no necessary trees in the place designated for building construction. There are some stemless trees including mahogany. Even if some trees are cut during the construction of the building, the environment will not be harmed. We have spoken to the master plan drafting committee, the construction of the building will begin in coordination with the master plan.
When asked when the work could start, he said, although the work is scheduled to start during the Eid holidays, the work will not start after the Eid closure based on the opinion of the students, teachers and the master plan drafting committee.
Meanwhile, the university officials do not want to cut trees and build new buildings without a master plan. They claim that they have been agitating for a complete master plan for almost five years. The university's biodiversity will be threatened by the construction work without the master plan. There is a lake next to the site earmarked for construction of Charukala Bhavan. Migratory birds from abroad come to this lake every year during winter. If multi-storied buildings are constructed there, the safe habitat of migratory birds may be damaged. Besides, the noise generated during the building construction work may stop the migration of migratory birds. So the university should prepare a comprehensive master plan and shift the building elsewhere. In addition, there is a danger of cutting down two hundred trees due to the construction of buildings.
Amartya Roy, President of the Jahangirnagar University Branch of the Students' Union, said, “We never want the building to be constructed by destroying the life and nature of the university.” Unplanned urbanization has made Dhaka city uninhabitable. If this unplanned urbanization happens in Jahangirnagar University, there will be no study environment here. So we want the building to be constructed through the master plan based on the opinions of teachers and students.
