শহীদ সৈয়দ নজরুল ইসলাম কলেজ ২০২৫

The orphanage is high in the Carolina mountains. I was there in the autumn. I wanted quiet, isolation, to do some troublesome writing. I wanted mountain air to blow out the malaria from too long a time in the subtropics. I was homesick too, for the flaming of maples in October, and for corn shocks and pumpkins and black-walnut trees.... I found them all living in a cabin that belonged to the orphanage, half a mile beyond the orphanage farm. When I took the cabin, I asked for a boy or man to come and chop wood for the fireplace....

I looked up from my typewriter one late afternoon, a little startled. A boy stood at the door and my pointer dog, my companion, was at his side and had not barked to warn me. The boy was probably twelve years old, but undersized. He wore overalls and a torn shirt, and was barefooted. He said, "I can chop some wood today." ..... "You? But you're small." "Size don't matter, chopping wood," he said. "Some of the big boys don't chop good. I've been chopping wood at the orphanage for a long time." "Very well. There's the axe. Go ahead and see what you can do." I went back to work, closing the door.... He began to chop. The blows were rhythmic and steady, and shortly I had forgotten him, the sound no more of an interruption than a consistent rain. I suppose an hour and a half passed and I heard the boy's steps on the cabin stoop.... The boy said, "I have to go to supper now," he said, "I can come again tomorrow." I said, "I'll pay you now for what you've done," thinking I should probably have to insist on an older boy.... We went together back of the cabin. An astonishing amount of solid wood had been cut.... "But you've done as much as a man," I said. "This is a splendid pile." I looked at him, actually, for the first time. His hair was the color of the corn shocks and his eyes, very direct, were like the mountain sky when rain is pending - gray, with a shadowing of that miraculous blue.... I gave him a quarter. "You may come tomorrow afternoon," I said, "and thank you very much." He looked at me, and at the coin, and seemed to want to speak, but could not, and turned away.... At daylight I was half awakened by the sound of chopping. Again it was so even in texture that I went back to sleep. When I left my bed in the cool morning, the boy had come and gone, and a stack of kindling was neat against the cabin wall. He came after school in the afternoon and worked until time to return to the orphanage.

The orphanage is high in the Carolina mountains. I was there in the autumn. I wanted quiet, isolation, to do some troublesome writing. I wanted mountain air to blow out the malaria from too long a time in the subtropics. I was homesick too, for the flaming of maples in October, and for corn shocks and pumpkins and black-walnut trees.... I found them all living in a cabin that belonged to the orphanage, half a mile beyond the orphanage farm. When I took the cabin, I asked for a boy or man to come and chop wood for the fireplace....

I looked up from my typewriter one late afternoon, a little startled. A boy stood at the door and my pointer dog, my companion, was at his side and had not barked to warn me. The boy was probably twelve years old, but undersized. He wore overalls and a torn shirt, and was barefooted. He said, "I can chop some wood today." ..... "You? But you're small." "Size don't matter, chopping wood," he said. "Some of the big boys don't chop good. I've been chopping wood at the orphanage for a long time." "Very well. There's the axe. Go ahead and see what you can do." I went back to work, closing the door.... He began to chop. The blows were rhythmic and steady, and shortly I had forgotten him, the sound no more of an interruption than a consistent rain. I suppose an hour and a half passed and I heard the boy's steps on the cabin stoop.... The boy said, "I have to go to supper now," he said, "I can come again tomorrow." I said, "I'll pay you now for what you've done," thinking I should probably have to insist on an older boy.... We went together back of the cabin. An astonishing amount of solid wood had been cut.... "But you've done as much as a man," I said. "This is a splendid pile." I looked at him, actually, for the first time. His hair was the color of the corn shocks and his eyes, very direct, were like the mountain sky when rain is pending - gray, with a shadowing of that miraculous blue.... I gave him a quarter. "You may come tomorrow afternoon," I said, "and thank you very much." He looked at me, and at the coin, and seemed to want to speak, but could not, and turned away.... At daylight I was half awakened by the sound of chopping. Again it was so even in texture that I went back to sleep. When I left my bed in the cool morning, the boy had come and gone, and a stack of kindling was neat against the cabin wall. He came after school in the afternoon and worked until time to return to the orphanage.

The island of St. Martin's is the only coral island in Bangladesh located in the north-eastern part of Bay of Bengal. The roughly flat Island is only about 3.6 metres above the sea level. The entire island can be walked about in 3 hours. The Island is known for its unique natural beauty with white sandy beaches fringed with coconut palms and a diverse marine life.

Due to the expansion of unregulated tourism, the Island is facing increasing erosion, contamination of surface and ground water, wildlife displacement, and loss of biodiversity. Other threats include cutting of sand dune vegetation for fuel-wood and hotel establishment; degradation of sand dune habitat; the harvesting of turtle eggs; indiscriminate exploitation of coral resources, etc. To address this, the Government has declared some areas of the Island as Ecologically Critical Area (ECA), prohibiting unauthorized constructions there.

Criticisms of Ecotourism

Despite the popularity of ecotourism the above-mentioned examples suggest, there are several criticisms of ecotourism as well. Increased tourism to sensitive areas without proper planning and management can actually harm the ecosystem and its species because the infrastructure needed to sustain tourism such as roads can contribute to environmental degradation.
Ecotourism is also said by critics to have a negative impact on local communities because the arrival of foreign visitors and wealth can shift political and economic conditions of the area. It can also make the area dependent more on tourism than its domestic economic practices.
While ecotourism becomes popular, we must however, remain cautious about its adverse effects and do our best to protect the environment and ecosystem.