April 27, 2008
Lauachhara used to be a pitch dark dense animal filled forest even fifty years ago. That’s why, when a real dense forest was needed for filming the Indian jungle portion of the famous Jules Verne master piece, ” Around the world in eighty days”, Lauachhara forest was selected. Michael Anderson, the director of this 5 Oscar/Golden Globe winning classic milestone movie, brough his several hundred stong team to Lauachhara forest in Sri Mangal of the then East pakistan.
[ A small clip of rural Bangladesh taken from the movie]
Almost none is left of that great forest. Yet this is one of the last remaining great Indian forests. This is home to a host of flora and fauna including nearly extinct Huluk Gibon locally known as Ulluk.
This forest is our national treasure. It is much more important than a gas or an oil field.
US oil giant Chevron started 3D survey in the forst area. I don’t know what was the idea. If they find oil/ gas their would they destroy the forest? And I also don’t know who gave them the permission.
Anyway while doing the survey in Lauachhara today, fire broke out in the reserve forest. The damage has not yet been assessed. Recently anaother gas rig fire, the tangra tila accident ruined a big portion of the forest.
I would urge all to Bangladesh and nature lover to raise their voices to stop Chevron from destryoing our national treasures.
May 8, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Saw the video. Since when did B’deshis start wearing turban? That’s not rural B’desh. Rural B’desh hardly wears any clothes, let alone additional pagri…Besides, if your nation is starving due to lack of economic growth, beauty of the forest wont feed you. Exploring resources that will pay off make right sense than giving in to wishful patriotism.
May 11, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Naved
This is a movie clip, not an excerpt from documentery. In your logic, if one visits new Zealand ( location of movie Lord of The Rings) he/she will see hobbits jumping everywhere, or you will T-Rexes in Kauai, Hawaii, where Jurassic Park was filmed. Simlarly Indiana Jones:temple of Doom was filmed in Candy, Sri Lanka where no one wears a pagri.
Rest of your comments only shows what a bonehead you are. Our forests are our lungs, our minds. Your witless existence does not need more than a Kidney, why don’t you give it away at least to make some worthy use of them?
” Rural B’desh hardly wears any clothes, let alone additional pagri…” What an ignorant moronic statement!
“…if your nation is starving due to lack of economic growth…” Who says that?
June 25, 2008 at 8:22 am
Good to see your post on this Rumi bhai. Thanks for mentioning it. I have some interest in Srimangal, I know a pineapple-growing family there.
You know Chevron also goes by “Unocal” in that region, and, I don’t know if you’ve seen it, there acquisition in Inathganj has altered the landscape. Inathganj didn’t have a forest there when Chevron went but still…locals say they can’t catch as many fish as they were able 10 or so years ago.