Rampant destruction of environment by sand lifters goes on

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) recently served legal notices on 20 different officials of the government, urging them to save the environment by putting a stop to illegal extraction of sand in four upazilas of Habiganj.

It has been at least two weeks since the notices were served. But so far, the authorities concerned did not take any action against the illegal act, neither did they respond to the notice, BELA officials said.

Issued on December 9 by Supreme Court lawyer Sayed Ahmed Kabir, BELA in the notice urged the respondents to protect the environment by removing 30 sand quarries -- 23 silica and seven ordinary -- from the official list of lessees in Sadar, Bahubal, Chunarughat and Madhabpur upazilas in Habiganj.

If the respondents, including secretaries of three ministries, fail to take action against unplanned and illegal extraction of sand from the areas, including hilly creeks and channels, BELA would take legal action against them, the notice also stated.

This correspondent during a recent visit in Daragaon village of Chunarughat upazila witnessed unabated destruction of the environment by illegal sand extractors.

Large craters were seen in agricultural land in different areas of the village where various types of equipment were set up to extract silica sand. 

Village resident Saddam Mia said the dredgers and other equipment were set up with the blessings of influential locals for extracting sand from agricultural land and creeks in the area.

Agricultural land as well as hillocks around the extraction sites are now at risk as the craters are dug as deep as 30 to 35 feet, said another villager, Rafiq Mia.

Advocate Shah Shaheda Akhtar, BELA's coordinator for Sylhet division, said, BELA served the notices after finding evidence of environmental destruction of agricultural land and even tea gardens and rubber gardens by sand extractors in the four upazilas.

She also said the respondents include the secretaries of land, forests and environment, and mineral resources ministries; the director general of the Bureau of Mineral Resources Development (BMRD); the deputy commissioner (DC) and the superintendent of police in Habiganj; the director of Department of Environment (DoE) in Sylhet division; and upazila nirbahi officers, assistant commissioners of land and officers-in-charge of police stations in the four upazilas.

Destruction of the environment in the long run will affect the livelihoods of locals as the destruction will not only change the classification of their land, but it will ultimately damage roads, bridges, culverts, utility lines and other essential infrastructures in the area, said Tofazzal Sohel, a member of the central executive committee of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan (Bapa) and general secretary of Bapa in Habiganj. 

The change in the topography of the area will also lead to an increased risk of natural catastrophes in the region, he added.

Mamunur Rashid, deputy director of BMRD, said 'Mining and Mineral Resources (Control and Development) Act, 1992' and other applicable laws prohibit the extraction of silica and sand in an uncontrolled and illegal manner.

DoE Director (Sylhet Division) Emran Hossain said the issue raised by BELA in the notice, which he is yet to receive, does not concern DoE as it is within the purview of the DC and the mineral resources ministry.