Rukhsana Rumi from Netrokona
The rapid change of climate has increased both risks and damage to both human beings and other life forms. The Netrokona region has been identified as a natural disaster prone area. Thunderstorms and lightning strikes kill people particularly the farmers who work in the open field every year. Many family members have become helpless due to the death of the persons who earns bread for all family members. According to tree lover Abdul Hamid, we can save lives from the thunderbolt if we plant palm trees. There are no tall trees, palm trees, betel trees, coconut trees, jarul trees in the areas. There is no lightning tower as well. Fishermen go fishing in the open field, farmers sow seeds, weed the lands and plant and harvest crops in an open field. Besides, people in Haor walk mile after mile under the open sky for their own needs. Due to lack of tall palms and other trees people die in a thunderbolt during a thunderstorm.
Kabiraj Abdul Hamid is a nature lover and good human being from Netrakona region. For the last 10 years, he has been planting palm trees to protect and others from lightning and thunderstorms. He has so far, planted a total of more than 25,000 palm seeds in different parts of Netrakona region. He is also creating awareness among the youths, youth organizations of the village, the farmers’ organizations, the students of the school through meetings, lectures, classes in the school about the importance to conserve biodiversity, protect the environment. This year he has collected palm seeds in the village, in the town house, in the dustbin thrown away by people. He has collected about 4,000 palm seeds from those places and planted them in five streets of Netrokona. Most recently he has made awareness among the youth organization named ‘Oxygen Youth Organization’, adolecent girls’ organization ‘Kusumkali Kishori Sangathan’ and ‘Rakhal Bandhu Krishak Sangathan’ of Darunbali village of Netrokona Sadar Upazila. He distributed tree saplings to the members of the organizations with free of cost and encouraged them to plant those saplings in their houses, roadside and fallow lands.
However, Abdul Hamid Kabiraj does not only collect a palm tree alone but also he collects and plants as well as distributes thousands of fruits, medicinal, herbs and forest trees in Netrokona area to students and people. When he observes or sees any case of environmental pollution he makes his sincere efforts to contribute in protecting the environment. He has been contributing in protecting the Magra river, the city’s ponds, the wetlands of Netrakona region. Besides, he has been standing beside the people during disasters and serving the mentally unbalanced street people. Let us take initiative to spread and expand the good work of tree and nature lover Abdul Hamid to protect ourselves and the planet from deterioration.
Translated by Silvanus Lamin
