The "Khurushia Eco-Park" was built in Rangunia, Chattogram, with government funding over a decade ago, but the Forest Department does not list it. After investigation, it was found that when Dr. Hasan Mahmud was the Minister of Environment and Forests, he misused his power to build the park in his village. To attract tourists, beautification was done at nearly BDT 20 million. However, over this long period, the government has not earned a single taka from it. Various structures are deteriorating due to neglect.
Officials from the Forest Department say that building an eco-park requires a certain amount of forest area. Even if the area is smaller, there are examples of such forest areas being established for their natural significance. The Khurushia Eco-Park in Padua Union, Rangunia Upazila, Chattogram, is only 12 acres or 5 hectares in size. It was implemented from the 2009-10 to 2011-12 fiscal year. After three years of construction, Minister Dr. Hasan Mahmud inaugurated the park on January 19, 2013. The Forest Department has raised the issue that building the park on forest land has consumed funds and destroyed natural forests.
According to sources from the Chattogram Forest Conservator's office, the country's first botanical garden and ecological park was built in 1998 in Sitakunda. It covers an area of 1,900 acres. Of this, 1,000 acres are dedicated to the botanical garden, and 900 acres are kept for tourism and recreation. Gradually, the government has built several more eco-parks in various parts of the country.
In 2003, a notification was issued to construct the Banshkhali Eco-Park on 808 hectares of forest land. Similarly, the Kuakata Eco-Park was built in 2005, covering 5,662 hectares of forest land. In 2006, the Borshijora Eco-Park was constructed in Moulvibazar, spanning 326.7 hectares of forest land. In 2008, the Jamuna Bridge West Bank Eco-Park was built on 50 hectares of forest land in the Pabna district. In 2010, the government issued a notification for the Riverview Eco-Park on just 2.54 acres of land in Pirojpur.
The Khurushia Park was built with a government fund of BDT 17.9 million from the Forest Department's biodiversity conservation and environmental tourism program under the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Although it does not fall under any specific category, it was declared an eco-park.
There are allegations that, despite not being significant, Hasan Mahmud abused his power to implement a project as an eco-park on Forest Department land. The park is only three kilometers away from his ancestral home. Additionally, despite the Forest Department's work, the park's infrastructure was built under the Deputy Work program by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED). As a result, after the park's construction, no continuous projects were undertaken for its maintenance, forest creation, or wildlife protection.
When asked, Abdullah Al Mamun, the Divisional Forest Officer of the Chattogram South Forest Division, told Bonik Barta, "To build an eco-park, a certain amount of forest land is required. The Khurushia Eco-Park was built as part of a program. In such a small park, there is no scope for eco-tourism, forest creation, or establishing a wildlife sanctuary. There was no opportunity to transform it into a full-fledged eco-park. This is why, since its inauguration, the structures and other infrastructure have been left abandoned."
Local people complain that, in the Khurushia Eco-Park area, natural trees in the protected forest have been cut down and replaced with teak trees, resulting in fewer companion trees growing.
The main gate area of the park has several facilities for resting and recreation. However, due to the teak plantation, there are no birds or other wildlife in the park. There are no significant natural attractions or initiatives to draw tourists, so people from distant places and locals do not visit the park.
On-site, the Khurushia Eco-Park is located near the Khurushia Range and Beat Office in Padua Union, Rangunia Upazila. A signboard is placed on the left side of the main gate wall. Next to it is a ticket counter. Inside the gate, within 50 feet, is a wall map detailing the structures built in the park. However, the number of structures is not mentioned. According to the description, the park has an office, forest land, a drive coaster sleeper, an up-and-down swing, a pump house, a picnic spot, a meeting room, a toilet, an umbrella, a lake, tubewell, and benches. Among these, there is a small and a large pond, along with about one kilometer of brick road. Although teak trees dominate the park, there are some forest and fruit trees.
Photo: Bonik Barta
The Khurushia Range officer of the Forest Department, Md Ashraful Islam, told Bonik Barta, "Since its inauguration, not a single tourist has visited the park. Compared to the breathtaking natural beauty of places like Bandarban, Lychee Gardens, and Rangamati, there is nothing to see at Khurushia Eco-Park. Also, the park is unsuitable for natural research. For this reason, researchers go to the Dudhpuria-Dhopachari Wildlife Sanctuary in Khurushia Range for their studies."
He further commented that although the construction of Khurushia Eco-Park cost nearly two crore taka, it was a waste of public funds as it had not been gazetted.
A Forest Department official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Bonik Barta, "According to the law, the government cannot build an eco-park without issuing a notification. Sometimes, even after construction, a gazette is published for important projects. However, while Dr. Hasan Mahmud was the Minister of Environment and Forests, he misused his power to construct the park, showing it as part of a Forest Department initiative. No features of an eco-park were included in it. As a result, the Khurushia Eco-Park, with only a name, is useless to the Forest Department, researchers, or even tourists."