Summary:
After Sheikh Hasina’s govt fell on 5 August, looters took honest appropriate thing about lax regulation and give away to elevate stones from two licensed tourist spots in Sylhet—Jaflong in Gowainghat upazila and Sada Pathor in Companiganj upazila.
Within the first three days after the government collapsed, practically Tk200 crore price of stones were stolen from these quarries, and the looting is soundless ongoing.
In step with locals, influential figures employed a total bunch of staff to extract stones around the clock, severely unfavorable these tourist areas.
Gowainghat Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Towhidul Islam talked about, “For the first three days after the government’s tumble, regulation enforcement agencies were mostly slothful. Within the course of this period, stones price round Tk120 crore were looted from Jaflong.”
Companiganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Abida Sultana talked about, “Stones price Tk20 crore were stolen from Sada Pathor, and one other Tk20 crore price of stones were taken from Shah Arefin Tila.”
Nonetheless, locals claim that the total price of the stones looted from the two quarries is now not Tk140 crore but over Tk200 crore.
To guard the ambiance and retain tourist sights, the Ministry of Mineral Sources issued a directive in 2016 to stop stone extraction. In 2012, a 15 sq km effect of dwelling, including Jaflong’s Piyain River, became as soon as declared an Ecologically Principal Situation (ECA).
A associated gazette warned, “The indiscriminate and unplanned extraction of stones and other activities bear jeopardised the ecosystem of Jaflong-Dawki River, which is anticipated to irritate one day… Any extraction of stones or other mineral sources utilizing mechanical, manual, or any other manner is exactly prohibited all the blueprint thru the ECA.”
As a results of the ministry’s prohibition, stone extraction became as soon as halted for several years, resulting in a critical accumulation of stones at the provide aspects of the Piyain River in Jaflong and the Dhalai River in Sada Pathor. These naturally deposited stones bear recently boosted tourism in each areas.
UNO Towhidul Islam talked about, “Jaflong is one in every of the nation’s high tourist destinations. The uncontrolled extraction of sand and stones has now not handiest broken the sweetness of the effect of dwelling but additionally harmed the ambiance. Extracting any salvage of sand or stones from Jaflong, which is talked about an ECA, is exactly prohibited.
“Nonetheless, no topic the ban, some individuals proceed to extract sand and stones, causing environmental hurt. We are conducting traditional raids towards them.”
To prevent the looting, regulation enforcement agencies are conducting traditional raids in areas admire Jaflong, Sada Pathor, Lovchhara, Bholaganj, and Shah Arefin Tila, and seizing stolen stones.
Two local stone traders, talking on situation of anonymity, talked about the looting is soundless ongoing. Daily, a total bunch of trucks are transporting stones from Jaflong and Sada Pathor. Despite the administration’s raids, handiest a limited quantity of the looted stones is being seized.
One of them added, “If you happen to consult with Jaflong now, all you might per chance perhaps beget about are trucks. All the effect of dwelling is lined in dust from the trucks. No longer handiest are there no vacationers, but locals are additionally struggling to lag which implies that of of the dust.”
On 6 November, at some level of a press conference at the Sylhet District Press Membership, one Mohammad Ismail Hossain from Jaflong accused influential political leaders of supporting the ongoing stone looting.
Native sources talked about that most of these fascinated about looting sand and stones from two quarries are connected to the BNP.
After proof of unlawful sand and stone extraction from the Piyain River surfaced, Rofikul Islam Shahporan, the ragged member of the Zila Parishad and joint secretary of the District BNP, misplaced his acquire together effect.
A lot of alternative BNP leaders bear additionally been linked to the stone looting, including Shah Alam Swapan, the recently eradicated chairman of the Gowainghat Upazila Parishad and ragged treasurer of the District BNP, and Amjad Field, the president of the East Jaflong Union BNP.
The Division of Atmosphere has filed two cases towards these three BNP leaders, in conjunction with 114 others, for their involvement within the looting. One case became as soon as filed with the Gowainghat police effect of dwelling, and one other with the Environmental Courtroom.
Four extra cases bear been filed over the looting of stones and sand, three at Gowainghat police effect of dwelling and one at Companiganj police effect of dwelling. Nonetheless, the most fundamental culprits are soundless at huge.
Sylhet’s Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, talked about, “Cases bear been filed at police stations referring to the stone looting, and the police are working to arrest these accountable. Frequent operations are additionally being conducted to stop the looting.”
Protests erupt over stone extraction ban
Meanwhile, since the ban on stone extraction, enterprise owners and staff bear been protesting to bear it lifted. The earlier govt now not famed their calls for, but after the unique govt took power, protests resumed.
On 23 October, a huge human chain became as soon as organised in Jaflong to enhance the explanation, with participation from diverse stone enterprise owners and worker associations.
Anwar Hossain Khan Anu, convener of the Jaflong Industrial, Employee, and Social Cohesion Council, voiced true enhance for resuming stone extraction. He talked about, “Millions of individuals across the nation depend on the extraction, sequence, and present of stones from Jaflong and other quarries for their livelihoods.
“With the quarries closed, each staff and enterprise owners bear suffered critical losses, and heaps within the enterprise are now unemployed.”
He additionally argued that stone extraction benefits the ambiance. “Yearly, huge portions of stones from India acquire right here due to flooding. Since extraction has stopped, the river’s provide is blocked, causing frequent floods in Sylhet. Resuming stone extraction is fundamental to forestall these floods and provide protection to the ambiance,” Anu added.
Nonetheless, environmental activists in Sylhet oppose the calls for of enterprise owners to resume stone extraction from local quarries. They’ve known as for declaring the ban, imposing Ecologically Principal Situation regulations in Jaflong, and regulating stone-crushing machines.
The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Affiliation (BELA) even submitted a memorandum to the Sylhet deputy commissioner outlining these calls for.
Shah Saheda Akhter, BELA’s divisional coordinator in Sylhet, talked about, “Since 5 August, looting has stripped Jaflong and Sada Pathor of their stones. Now, enterprise owners are tense the resumption of stone extraction. If their calls for are met, these tourist spots will flip to rubble all another time.”
Ashraful Kabir, coordinator of the environmental neighborhood Bhumi Santan Bangladesh, argued that Sylhet’s quarries produce too few stones to meet local predict.
“Most stones are imported from India, so the claim that reopening quarries would stop imports is misguided,” he talked about. “Whereas reopening the quarries might per chance perhaps per chance serve about a financially, this will reason critical hurt to the nation.”
Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Sher Mahmud Murad talked about, “The choice to reopen stone quarries rests with better ranges of govt. As of now, no decision has been made.”
“Strict gallop will likely be taken towards any individual illegally extracting stones,” he added.
