The High Court on Thursday stayed on felling of century-old trees for widening and construction of Jessore-Benapole road for six months.
The bench of Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir passed the order following a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh.
The court also said the government can continue development work of the road, but without chopping down the trees on the road.
In July, 2017, the authorities took the decision of chopping down 2,700 trees on the highway, many of which stand majestically on both sides of the road throughout well over a century.
Later, at a meeting on 6 January this year, chaired by the district commissioner of Jessore Md Ashraf Uddin, it was said that the trees would be felled to upgrade the highway into four lanes.
The writ was filed in the backdrop of protest against the district administration’s decision.
The local member of the parliament and influential persons of the administration and the area were part of the decision.