Tangail Correspondent:

The government has commenced the demarcation of 18, 565 acres of Madhupur’s Sal forest in Tangail.

The Forest Department, local administration and local organisations jointly started the work as per the directives of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

For the first time in the country’s history, the official boundary of a forested region is being systematically delineated.

The demarcation process has begun at the border points of Beribaid Mouja in Madhupur upazila and Kamalapur Mouja in Mymensingh.

A total of 15 moujas, including Arankhola, Beribaid, Chunia, Gachabari, Idilpur and others, will have their forest boundaries precisely defined.

The absence of a clearly marked boundary has led to rampant encroachment, with settlements emerging and large tracts of forestland being converted into pineapple, banana, and papaya plantations.

The new demarcation will safeguard the forest, enabling scientific management and the long-overdue restoration of Madhupur’s Sal ecosystem.

Besides, as part of the Forest Department’s annual encroachment removal initiative for FY 2024-25, 150 acres of illegally occupied forestland will be reclaimed and reforested with Sal and associated native species.

Meanwhile, the site-specific afforestation programs will replace non-native plantation species with ecologically suitable flora.

The collection of seedlings—including Haldu, Koroi, Haritaki, Bahera, Arjun, Jarul, and others—is already underway.

Plans are also in place to sow Sal seeds directly in designated areas to facilitate natural regeneration.