A sense of despair gripped the indigenous community in Madhupur since resumption of the wall construction.

Meanwhile, the community faxed a petition to the chief adviser (CA) to the caretaker government (CG) demanding suspension of the wall construction in Madhupur forest since they are unable to hold a protest demonstration due to the state of emergency, sources said.

The forest department took up the Forest Conservation and Eco Tourism Project in 2000 to build an Eco Park on 3,000 acres of the forest in Madhupur.

The indigenous people of Madhupur started a movement against the Eco Park project when the forest department began constructing the boundary wall in 2004.

An indigenous youth, Piren Slan, 20, was shot dead and 25 others including women and children were injured with bullet wounds when police and forest guards opened fire on a protest march of the community in Jalabada area on January 3, 2004.

The indigenous people demanded withdrawal of the project and the wall construction since, in their words, the tradition and culture of the local indigenous people will be hampered if the Eco Park project is implemented.

Following the incident, construction of the boundary wall was suspended in the face of the movement.

The forest department officials assured the indigenous community several times that they would discuss with the community before resuming the wall construction.

But, suddenly without any discussion with the local indigenous community the forest department awarded work orders to seven different contactors recently for constructing a 22,200 feet boundary wall enclosing the forest.

Getting the work orders from the forest department the contactors started constructing the wall right after the state of emergency had been declared.

Leaders of the community held a virtual secret meeting on last Tuesday at Sadhupara in Madhupur since they are not allowed to hold any public meeting criticising any government move during the state of emergency.

According to the meeting's decision, the community faxed a petition to the CA demanding suspension of the wall construction in the forest, sources within the indigenous community said.

Indigenous leader Albert Mankin told the Daily Star on Thursday that the interest of the indigenous community in Madhupur will be hampered severely if the Eco Park project is implemented there.

The forest department is constructing the wall in great haste with assistance from law enforcers taking the opportunity of the state of emergency, he said.

"The indigenous people of Madhupur never accepted the boundary wall in the forest," he added.

Abu Hanif Patwari, divisional forest officer (DFO) in Tangail, however told The Daily Star on the same day that the local people including indigenous people already encroached on over 20,000 acres of the forest out of a total of 45, 565 acres in Madhupur. So, the Eco Park project is essential to save the forest and its biodiversity.

Conceding to the demand of the indigenous people the forest department already curtailed some of its elaborate plans including picnic spots from the Eco Park's design, the DFO said.

Zahirul Islam, assistant forest conservator (ACF) in Madhupur, told The Daily Star that armed forests guards are providing security for the wall construction work fulltime.

Besides, police and army personnel are also patrolling the construction sites, he said.

Some indigenous leaders seeking anonymity said that the law enforcers warned the local indigenous leaders 'to watch that the law and order situation does not slide centring the wall construction'.

Panic gripped the indigenous leaders since the warning from the law enforcers, they said.

Sanjeeb Drong, secretary of Indigenous People's Forum Bangladesh, said, "Even the immediate past government did not try to implement the project because it is not a conservation project, rather it is a recreational project which will end up doing more harm to the ecosystem than saving it and also it will destroy the indigenous way of living."

The current CG should have scrapped the project instead of resuming it, he added.