POBNEWS24, Dhaka, June 24, 2023 : The National Tree Plantation Campaign and Tree Fair have gathered in a span of two weeks. The tree fair starts from June 5 at the old trade fair ground of Sherbangla Nagar in the capital. In the first week, the traffic of tree lovers and buyers was low due to the intense heatwave in the beginning.
However, tree lovers are rushing to the fair as the temperature has dropped slightly due to rain for a few days. The theme of this year’s tree fair is ‘Plant trees and take care, build a healthy generation country’.
As Friday was a holiday, the presence of people in the fair was noticeable. Many people go from different parts of the capital to buy their favorite tree at the fair. Due to limited space in the city, the demand for seedlings suitable for rooftop gardens has increased.
The organizers said that there are a total of 131 stalls in the fair this year. 7 government and 90 privately owned institutions have given these stalls. There is a breast feeding corner and rest room for the elderly. So far, about 698 thousand saplings have been sold for about 5 crore 38 lakh taka. Government institutions at the fair include Directorate of Agricultural Extension, National Herbarium, Directorate of Local Government Engineering, Agricultural Development Corporation and Bangladesh Forest Research Institute.
The fair premises can be seen, after entering through the entrance, the control room and information center of the forest department is on the right hand side. On the left side is the National Botanical Garden stall. There are many rare species of trees including cactus, corn, bonsai, bots. If you go a little further, you will see a beautiful water fountain. Although there is less crowd in the fair in the morning, a lot of visitors continue to come to the fair after afternoon. There are various fruits such as mango, jam, jackfruit, pomegranate, lemon, grapefruit hanging on small trees. National flowers are being decorated, starting from bellies, roses or garden luxuries. Traders have arranged stalls of forest, fruit, medicinal, orchid, ornamental plants. The fair grounds have turned into a huge ceremony of green.
Visiting various stalls, Indonesian mango, Chiangmai, BN7, Alphonso, Dokmai Srimuang, Red Ivory, Double Kaptin, Katimon mango seedlings are attracting visitors at Barisal Nursery. Apart from this, perennial pear, apple, avocado, persimmon seedlings are being sold.
The seedlings are being sold for 1 thousand to 40 thousand rupees. Different types of fruit seedlings are available in the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation stall for Tk 100-400.
Belly Garden Nursery sells a variety of exotic plants including Nandakamai-Simoan, Brunei King. Exotic trees at Diploma Nursery include African Cocoa Chocolate, Thai Pear, Philippine Sunthun, Japanese Persimmon, Thai Chiang Mai. Their price is 15-40 thousand rupees depending on the tree.
75 species of rare and endangered trees are available in Green Space Nursery. Various fruit trees are available at BRAC nursery for 150-600 taka. Bonsai is available from 1,200 to 250,000 taka.
A wide variety of plants suitable for roof gardens are available in the Musur roof garden. At Uddipan Pakhi Pally, handmade bird nests made of straw are being sold for Tk 250. All small and large agricultural machinery is being sold at Hossain Nursery. The price ranges from 200 to 2000 taka.
A variety of medicinal and spice plant seedlings are available in the National Herbarium. Many are thronging to see an ideal village exhibition of the local government engineering department.
Along with trees, eco-friendly decorative items are also available at the fair. Apart from this, honey, pure mustard oil, pickles and other home-made items are available.
Stall owners said that the sales are increasing now compared to the beginning. However, when the tree fair has gathered, they will have to face some losses due to the holiday from 27th due to Eid al-Adha.
Asaduzzaman, who came to the fair with his family from Mirpur Pallabi, said, “I am bringing children to introduce them to different plants. Had a great time. There is no such opportunity to get acquainted with so many trees in the city without the tree fair. Bought some orchids, flowers and guava seedlings. There is no alternative to planting trees to reduce rising temperatures. After Eid, I will come to the fair again to buy some more seedlings.
Assistant Conservator of Forests of the Department of Forests, Deepan Chandra Das, said that the organization of the Department of Forests is to get rid of the damage caused by climate change and to encourage planting more trees. Orchid, fruit and ornamental tree seedlings are being sold in abundance at the fair this year. He also said that the Prime Minister urged everyone to plant trees in three categories (forest, fruit, medicinal). Now is the right time to plant trees so everyone should collect seedlings from here and plant them in cultivable places (rooftops, balconies, backyards) which will contribute to the balance of our environment.
The first phase of the fair will continue till June 26. After Eid, the tree fair will start on July 1 and end on July 12. The fair is open to all. Every day starts from 9 am till 8 pm.
