Traders feast on Jamuna sand

A syndicate of influential traders has been illegally extracting sand from the Jamuna for around three months, putting the Bangabandhu Bridge under serious threat as the site is just about a kilometre away from the bridge.

Some 12 traders with political clout have employed eight powerful dredgers at the east end of the bridge in Kalihati upazila of Tangail to extract sand. The machines operate round the clock at the spot under the jurisdiction of Bangladesh Bridges Authority (BBA). This has been going on even though dredging within six kilometres of the bridge is prohibited.

Experts feared the dredging could change the course of the Jamuna and harm the livelihoods of villagers along the river.

Visiting the area recently, this correspondent saw extraction of sand by dredgers at Beltia, Shamshoil, Char Sindur and Alipur mouzas in Kalihati upazila.

Traders also built a road across the New Dhaleswari, a tributary of the Jamuna, at the east side of the bridge at Beltia to carry the sand by over 400 trucks. The makeshift road has halted the flow of the New Dhaleswari. Several chars have formed too because of this.

Engr Mohammad Ali, an expert on river dredging, said: “The Jamuna could change its course and the bridge might collapse entirely if sand is lifted from the riverbed by dredgers from a spot so close to the bridge.”

None from the Tangail district administration, the site office of BBA, and the Bangladesh-China joint venture firm, tasked with operation and maintenance of the bridge, would shoulder the responsibility of the illegal extraction of sand.

Sand-lifting at the site was suspended only a few months ago after The

Daily Star ran a report on the issue. The district administration conducted drives in the area to free the confluence of the Jamuna and the New Dhaleswari from the clutches of traders.

WHO IS TO BLAME?

Sand traders claimed they had verbal permission from the BBA site office and Tangail deputy commissioner's office to extract sand from the riverbed. The two offices, however, denied their claim. 

One of the traders said dredgers of two local Awami League leaders were set up in an area under the BBA after paying Tk 6 lakh to Engr Abul Kalam Azad at the BBA site office.

Engr Azad, who has been working there for the last 17 years, denied taking money from the traders. “We've allowed the traders only to unload sand-laden trawlers from other districts there and carry the sand by trucks,” he said.

Six more dredgers were set up on private land after taking verbal permission from the Tangail district administration, the traders claimed.

Mahbub Hossain, DC of Tangail, said the BBA authorities leased out its land to sand traders despite opposition from his office.

The illegal extraction of sand has been going on as the bridge authorities gave the traders the opportunity, he added.

Last year, a mobile court led by the district executive magistrate demolished the roads built by sand traders across the New Dhaleswari. It also put up a fence around the Thana Balu Ghat near the bridge, which was removed by unidentified people a few months ago, said the DC.

Mozammel Haque, chief engineer of the Bangladesh-China joint venture firm, said they can't remove the dredgers from the area, but have already stated an objection to the BBA against the operation of the machines.

Asked for comment, Golam Mortuza, executive engineer at BBA Dhaka office, said he would talk to the officials at the site office about the issue.