Hundreds of workers are grappling with impolite hardship as a result of the prolonged closure of the nation’s largest stone quarries within the border areas of Sylhet, particularly within the areas surrounding Bholaganj, Jaflong, and Bichnakandi.
Despite a recent High Court docket portray permitting stone extraction the usage of veteran solutions, the quarries live shuttered, leaving the local personnel in despair.
The quarries in Bholaganj, Jaflong, and Bichnakandi appreciate been closed for years under the pretext of environmental preservation.
The High Court docket had intervened, issuing orders to resume stone extraction through veteran, environmentally friendly solutions. Yet, these orders appreciate largely long past unheeded, and the quarries live closed for causes unknown to the workers and native industry leaders.
Leaders from the industry organisations of Gowainghat and Companiganj upazilas appreciate many times appealed to the authorities, presenting the court’s directives, however their pleas appreciate been met with negate of no process.
Which potential that, many each day wage labourers, counting on the stone industry, appreciate misplaced their livelihoods.
Every morning, workers in Jaflong, Bichnakandi, Bholaganj, and surrounding areas are viewed ready in vain for work—some sitting with shovels and baskets, others hoping to be hired for handbook labour. These workers, as soon as segment of a thriving industry, now face a grim future as their locations of work live closed.
The shutdown of the quarries has no longer only affected the workers however also the broader local economy. The stone industry used to be as soon as a serious contributor to each and each local and nationwide revenue.
According to local industry leaders, the authorities would possibly well construct tall revenue if the quarries were reopened. At the same time, 3-4 lakh workers from across the nation, including these from Sylhet, would possibly well derive employment and affords a steal to their livelihoods.
Many stone traders are also facing monetary wreck, having mortgaged their assets to banks to make investments within the stone industry. With the quarries closed, they are unable to repay their loans, striking their homes and companies in jeopardy.
Native crushing zones, including these in North Sylhet, are turning into ghost towns as workers and entrepreneurs alike war to outlive.
The anxiety has change into an increasing selection of dire. Staff from Gowainghat, Jaintapur, and Companiganj upazilas, who know no other alternate than quarry-linked work, are now living in impolite poverty.
In response, protests appreciate erupted, with workers and native companies demanding the prompt reopening of the quarries.
Human chain occasions appreciate been organised, with the workers chanting slogans love “desire rice or work,” highlighting their urgent need for employment.
Hafizur Rahman, president of the Gowainghat Upazila Truck-Pickup, Covered Van Staff Union, said that the reopening of the quarries would no longer only revive the stone industry however would also give a steal to the lives of thousands of workers and their families.
“If the quarries are opened, the authorities will generate revenue, and the living standards of the working contributors will vastly give a steal to,” Rahman said.
Mohibur Rahman, a stone dealer from Bichnakandi, echoed these sentiments, stating that the veteran formula of stone extraction would enable companies to enhance their losses and enable workers to advance to their jobs.
“The authorities needs to enable stone extraction in an environmentally friendly potential. This is able to well delivery the door to employment and livelihoods for a lot of,” he added.
Minhaj Uddin, a businessman from Jaflong, called the closure a “humanitarian disaster” affecting workers who’re now living in impolite prerequisites.
Md. Touhidul Islam, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Gowainghat, said that the Energy, Energy, and Mineral Sources Department has ordered the local administration to pause all quarrying activities without a sound rent. Which potential that, Jaflong, Bichnakandi, and Bholaganj quarries, alongside with their sand extraction areas, live closed.
“Current drives are being conducted to make it most likely for that compliance with the closure portray,” he added.
On the opposite hand, representatives from civil society within the situation are urging the authorities to act immediate, calling for the urgent reopening of the quarries in mild of the ongoing struggling of the workers.
Native leaders, industry owners, and workers proceed to enchantment for a solution, with the hope that their livelihoods would possibly well additionally be restored and the situation’s economy revived.
