Encroachment, tree felling threaten Hazarikhil

Illegal activities, including tree felling and encroachment, continue unabated in Hazarikhil Wildlife Sanctuary in Chattogram’s Fatikchhari upazila, threatening its forest and wildlife.

The Forest Department recorded 26 cases involving forest-related crimes in the sanctuary in the 2025-26 fiscal year, up from seven in 2024-25 and six in 2023-24.

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Established in 2010, the sanctuary covers about 2,900 hectares of hilly forest and is home to 123 bird, 33 mammal and 478 plant species.

“Several organised local groups have long been actively grabbing forest land and establishing fruit orchards or structures, while others fell trees to sell the timber locally,” said Sikder Atikur Rahman, ranger of Hazarikhil Range.

He said some offenders face multiple cases but continue their activities, taking advantage of the Forest Department’s manpower shortage.

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An analysis of Forest Department data shows that 12 cases were filed in the Fatikchhari Beat area, a remote hilly part of the sanctuary with no human settlements.

“Syndicates cut down trees and transport the timber along hilly trails in jeeps late at night before selling it in local markets,” said a forest guard, requesting anonymity.

Atikur said Hazarikhil Range has only 14 staff members against 32 sanctioned posts, making it difficult to patrol vulnerable areas.

Wildlife hunting is another concern.

In May this year, five locally made firearms used for hunting were recovered from the sanctuary, police sources said.

Atikur said they had received reports of deer and wild boar hunting but had yet to catch anyone in the act despite monitoring.

According to Forest Department data, a youth was shot dead during an illegal deer-hunting expedition in the Sujanagar area near the sanctuary in June 2023.

Md Kamal Hossain, supernumerary professor of Forestry and Environmental Sciences at Chittagong University, said Hazarikhil is part of the century-old Ramgarh-Sitakunda Reserved Forest and contains many old trees, including endangered species.

“If the forest continues to be ravaged, wildlife habitats will be lost, thereby adversely affecting the balance of the entire ecosystem,” he added.

Mihir Kumar Doe, conservator of forests in Chattogram region, said he would instruct the divisional forest officer of Chattogram (north) to take steps to address the manpower shortage.

Abu Naser Mohsin Hossain, divisional forest officer, could not be reached for comment over the phone.