Rail link with Sylhet cut off for 6 hours

Sylhet's rail link with Dhaka and Chittagong that snapped following a landslide in Lawachara National Park of Moulvibazar yesterday morning was restored after around six hours.

Shahabuddin Fakir, station  master of Bhanugach Railway Station, said a large chunk of mud fell on the lines in Magurchhara area of the park in Kamalganj upazila, suspending railway             communications of Sylhet with Dhaka and Chittagong around 6:30am.  

The railway communications resumed around 12:00noon, said Shahabuddin.

Three trains -- Kalni Express, Joyantika Express and Demu Express -- were stranded at Shamshernagar because of the incident, said Jahangir Alom, station master of Sreemangal Railway Station.

Tabibur Rahman, assistant conservator of wildlife management and nature conservation department in Moulvibazar, said cutting of hills to construct roads and railway tracks and felling of old trees were the main reasons for landslide in Lawachara.

Jabed Bhuiyan, joint convener of Lawachara Bon O Jibo Boichitro Rokkha Andolon, said a syndicate, under the shelter of local influentials, was involved in plundering 100-year-old trees of various species.

Narayan Saha, former head of forestry and environment science department at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, told this correspondent that cutting down of big trees was the main reason behind landslide.

Small trees cannot hold soil properly as roots of big trees are stronger than small trees. So, it is important to save big trees to avoid landslides, he added.