Four Cos fined, two dredgers seized

A mobile court conducted drive at Kalia Haripur point of the Jamuna river in Sirajganj Sadar on Wednesday evening and seized two dredger machines from there.

The court, led by Executive Magistrate Md Asgar Ali, also fined four sand lifting companies Tk 7 lakh for illegal sand lifting from the restricted government establishment zone.

Sand lifting near Jamuna at Bangabandhu Jamuna Bridge WDB embankment is strictly prohibited. In spite of the ban, a group of influential sand traders using heavy dredger machines continued lifting sand from Kalia Haripur point for long, said court sources.

Four sand lifting companies -- two from Dhaka and two from Tangail—were jointly lifting sand from the point using two heavy dredger machines, causing massive threat to Jamuna Bridge and cross embankment near the bridge, said magistrate Asgar.

During the drive, the court fined Sajib Enterprise and Alif-Meem Dredging Enterprise Tk 1.50 lakh each, while MV Abbas Ali and MV Rajib were fined Tk two lakh each.

The accused sand lifting companies gave an undertaking to the mobile court that they will not lift sand illegally from the spot, said the magistrate.