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Number of trees that need to be felled being counted   



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By Shiva Shankar Mishra
Bara, Feb. 17: Counting of trees having a diameter anywhere between 32 to 94 centimetres lying within the area of the proposed Nijgadh International Airport (NIA), in Nijgadh, in Bara district, has begun.
In response to reports that more than 2.5 million trees will be cut down for the construction of the airport, the Division Forest Office (DFO) of Simara, Bara, under the direction of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, is launching the counting to ascertain the exact number of trees that will be felled.
“It is important to know how many trees there are in the airport area before beginning construction,” said Manjur Ahmad, head of the DFO. “That is why there are going to be counted.” He added, “This will help us provide details to the Supreme Court too.” The case regarding the construction of the Nijgadh International Airport is sub judice in the court.
Following orders from the federal Ministry of Forests and Environment and approval from Province 2’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment, 25,600 trees in the southern region of the airport area have already been counted.
Ahmad informed that four teams comprising four technicians and workers each had been deployed for the job. Out of the 8,045 hectares of land allotted by the government for the construction of the airport, the Forest Office is counting the trees in an area of 1,900 hectares in the first phase, using Google Maps.
Forest Technician Dharmendra Pasi said that only those plants having a diameter of more than 32 centimetres would be considered trees while others would be considered saplings. Saplings will not be cut. Even among trees, those with a diameter anywhere between 32 to 94 centimetres would be considered poles while those thicker than 94 centimetres would be considered mature trees.
Nearly all of the 8,045 hectares of the airport area is forest land, classified as national forests.