NGO News Report :: Bandarban lands losing fertility, woods and maternal health under severe threat. Tobacco companies have grabbed the lands of Bandarban and consequently the lands are getting destroyed for the tobacco cultivation on the farmlands and the tobacco companies are adopting numerous ill tactics to expand their business in the district, reads a report on the Daily Bhorer Kagoj on February 4, 2015 by Tutul Rahman, an ATMA member. Following the report, tobacco companies have built over 6000 tobacco furnaces to bake tobacco leaves and using the forest woods to fuel the furnaces. Studies have unveiled that about 31 per cent of the forest woods are burnt for tobacco farming and the lands rapidly loose fertility as frequently insecticides and fertilizers are used on the lands, according to the report.
Besides, the maternal reproductive health and health of the children are under severe threat for tobacco cultivation in the district, following the report. The report adds that many of the females are losing reproductive ability and respiratory disorders among the children are on rise in the district. The toxic smells emitted from the tobacco leaves are spreading diseases and disorders among them, believes specialists, according to the report. The detail of the report is available on the following link:
https://www.bhorerkagoj.net/epaper/2015/02/04/9/details/9_r2_c2.jpg
Tobacco cultivation with government subsidized fertilizer! Tobacco industry is using their ill tactics such as using government subsidy in an indirect way involving the farmers in tobacco cultivation instead of potato cultivation says in a report published on the popular on line news paper https://www.banglanews24.com on February 4, 2015 by Khorshed Alam Sagar, an ATMA member. Despite the government on principal do not support tobacco cultivation, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), indirectly is providing subsidized fertilizers and irrigation support for tobacco cultivation. The farmers are getting these fertilizers with the influence of tobacco industry officials who are linked with DAE officers. These are all fertilizers for Potato cultivation. As the government did not come up with a policy on tobacco cultivation till now; the tobacco industry is taking benefits which are helping them to expand their business. See the detail report:
https://www.banglanews24.com/beta/fullnews/bn/364279.html
