Dozens of mature trees standing on government land along a four-kilometre stretch of the Sanuhar-Dhamura road in Wazirpur upazila, Barishal, have been illegally felled and removed. Local residents have pointed fingers at Zia Amin Rarhi, president of the upazila Shramik Dal, alleging that he and his associates orchestrated the illicit logging operation.

Although the timber logging continued unabated over several days and nights, the local administration took formal notice on Tuesday, when Upazila Engineer Subrata Roy lodged a written complaint with the local police station. The complaint, however, names unknown individuals rather than specifically identifying suspects.

According to the official statement, the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is currently carrying out road improvement works along the Sanuhar-Dhamura thoroughfare. Engineer Roy inspected the site on 2 November before returning to his office. Upon revisiting the location at 10:00 am the following morning, he discovered several severed tree trunks lying along the middle section of the road. A subsequent inspection revealed that trees spanning the entire four-kilometre stretch between Sanuhar and Kachua had been systematically felled and carted away.

Local residents reported that unidentified individuals had placed painted markings on the roadside trees a few days prior to the felling. Shortly thereafter, loggers began cutting down trees around the clock. Multiple local political figures and residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, corroborated claims that Zia Amin Rarhi led the operation. A former president of the Sholak Union Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal initially posted on social media accusing Rarhi and his associates of the theft. Although he later deleted the post under pressure from senior party leaders, he confirmed to reporters that the allegations remain entirely true.

Efforts to contact Zia Amin Rarhi via telephone for comment proved unsuccessful as he repeatedly failed to answer calls.

Uncertainty remains regarding the origin of the timber. Wazirpur Upazila Forestry Officer Mohammad Moniruzzaman noted that it was unclear whether the trees fell under a formal social forestry scheme. He mentioned that a former Member of Parliament had reportedly planted the saplings alongside local residents several years ago. Nonetheless, as they stood on government land, they constitute public property.

Wazirpur Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Ali Suja confirmed that police have been directed to investigate the matter thoroughly and take strict legal action against those responsible.