Illegal stone crushers on govt land at Jaflong
More than 250 crushers around tourist spot Jaflong, some 55km north of Sylhet city, are crushing stones illegally occupying land belonging to Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and Bangladesh Forest Department.
Visiting the area earlier this month, this correspondent found many unauthorised crushers occupying land along the Sylhet-Tamabil highway. Most of the stone crushing machines were set up uprooting trees and removing vegetation on the land of RHD.
The unauthorised crushers along with 300 authorised ones are contributing to air pollution in the area. Moreover, tourists and residents of the area are subjected to sound pollution.
“Most of the stone-crushing units have permission from the environment department,” claimed Mobashwir Ahmed, general secretary of Sylhet Stone Crusher Mill Malik Samity.
However, some smaller crushers, popularly known as Tomtoms, have been set up haphazardly without permission from the authorities concerned.
“We have repeatedly applied to the environment department for drives against the illegal stone crushers, but no step has been taken,” he alleged.
Mostafizur Rahman, assistant director of The Department of Environment, said, “We will soon launch a drive against those crushing stone illegally.”
He added that they are preparing a list of illegal crushers set up in Jaflong and in adjoining Jaintapur area.
During the immediate past caretaker government, a total of 36 illegal stone crushers were removed, but they have come back.
Officer-in-Charge of Jaintapur area Abdul Khaleque said in the first week of August, they evicted a group who had been dumping crushed stones on land belonging to the forest department.
He blamed insufficient manpower for failing to protect the huge forests of the area.
Mir Nizam Uddin, sub-divisional engineer at Roads and Highways Department, said they have requested higher-ups several times to remove the crushers occupying land of the department.
Contacted, Iftekhar Kabir, additional chief engineer of Roads and Highways Department, Sylhet Zone said they have discussed the matter at a meeting last month and will take action soon.
Shah Shaheda Akhtar, regional coordinator of Bela, said these crushers are depleting the forest and destroying the natural beauty of Jaflong.
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