Jump to full article: Dhaka Daily Star (bd), 2009-05-21
Intro: Tobacco cultivation is posing a threat to the public health and the environment in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).
Although tobacco cultivation is strictly prohibited, the tobacco companies are doing brisk business, violating the rules. Besides, they motivate the farmers openly by offering incentives in cash and kind to cultivate tobacco.
At least 60 to 70 thousand metric tones of firewood are being burnt in 2,000 tobacco processing kilns every year, causing depletion of reserve and natural forests, threatening environment and ecology in the hills, environmentalists said.
They said tobacco cultivation leaves bad impact on the soil fertility and once tobacco is cultivated its difficult to grow other crops on the same land.
Some 7000 farmers are involved with the tobacco farming in the CHT
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