800 fruit-bearing papaya trees cut down in Rangamati overnight

Miscreants have cut down nearly 800 fruit-bearing papaya trees in Rangamati overnight, causing losses of several lakh taka to the farmer. The incident, which has sparked widespread concern in the area, destroyed hundreds of trees ready for market.

The incident took place on Thursday (July 30) night in the Noapadam Brahman Tila area of Rangapani, under Ward No. 6 of Rangamati Municipality. On Friday morning, the farmer found rows of papaya trees cut down with sharp weapons across a vast area. Most of the trees were laden with raw and semi-ripe papayas, which were planned for harvest within the next month.

Landowner Ahmed Fazlur Rashid Selim said a man named Md Khalil leased about one acre of land from him to cultivate papayas. About 1,800 papaya trees were planted in the garden, of which around 800 fruit-bearing trees were selectively cut down.

He said it is still unknown who carried out the vandalism at night. Cutting down fruit-bearing trees in this manner is extremely painful and cruel for any farmer.

Garden caretaker Md Jahid said he had gone to sleep after dinner. In the morning, he discovered a large number of trees had been cut. The papayas on these trees would have been ready for market within a month.

It is learnt that the leaseholder and papaya farmer, Md Khalil, is currently outside Rangamati. The landowner said legal action will be taken upon his return. No written complaint has been filed with the police so far.

Locals claimed the incident was planned to harm the farmer. They demanded that those responsible be identified and brought to justice quickly.