vue - Lama 2 Alikadam

Bangladesh is the land of natural beauty and fertility attracts various people with numerous aims. While traveling towards the eastside of the country more specifically AliKadam, Lama of Bandarban district our eyes were overwhelmed by the beauty of the site as well as little disappointed with current environmental situation of the area. We were travelling through the uneven road on the traditional 'Chander Gari' and saw all the flat lands around the foot area of Mirinza hill, the land beside the road from lama to ali kadam; even in the playing ground of Modujhiri govt. primary school and as far as we can see the bank of Matamuhuri River were covered with tobacco farming. While talking to local people we come to know that the flat land where these farming is being practice was mostly government properties given to high government officials for farming of "Rubber" or "Horticulture" but there weren't any. So these lands are being subjected to a very interesting way of practicing farming by the middle man of that area. The local & multinational tobacco companies are providing money to the middle man for contract farming of tobacco to ensure the raw materials of their product. The middle man taking the money asks the marginal farmer to cultivate tobacco for them. But as marginal farmers do not have enough money to cultivate they lend money from the middle man with high interest. For example, if they take BDT 10,000 for one tobacco season (6/7 month), they have to return 15,000.After the cultivation they sell the product to the middle man and return the money. But the chain continues as the middle man sells the tobacco to the company with profit. So in every sense the middle men are getting all the profit without any investment. On the other hand the marginal farmers are deprived of any kind of benefit and leaving the ecosystem imbalance. But you can surely find some signboards depicting the words regarding tree plantation campaign. But as per our knowledge goes you need a huge amount of wood to process the tobacco. So question arises how can a tree be supplement of the thousand trees that were burned to dry up the tobaccos? Not only this, we got scared to observe that, brick field are also emerging in the area. The brick fields are burning wood for the purpose of the forests round the area leaving the environmental condition fragile. Although, the permission of the brick field is for burning the coal but as wood are more available they prefer the local trees for burning. The people from ethnic society used to cultivate orange, zinger, turmeric, banana, vegetable enriching the food supply for the country. But they are being removed by the government to more remote place causing them move out from their traditional practice leaving the lands free for the cultivation of tobacco. After all these misdeeds we felt an immense pleasure visiting the crystal clear water of Matamuhuri, the jagged road, the hill tract of Mirinza most of all the gentle breeze full life. One can surely visit the site and refresh their mind.