Powerless against sand lifters

It is unthinkable that illegal sand sifters have the gall to physically attack an assistant commissioner (land) and other officials. But that is precisely what happened in Hariampur area near the Padma River on January 19 when on an inspection visit, the said officials came under attack from armed goons of the groups involved in sand lifting. Such is the state of the country that powerful syndicates appear to wield more power than the land department whose job it is to protect river banks and deter the illegal lifting of sand.

According to a report published in this paper yesterday, the local people have long been complaining about river erosion due to sand lifting. We are informed that the person heading this illegal activity is related to a powerful local ruling party man and by that count alone, sand keeps getting lifted, leaving the communities living along the Padma in that area in dire straits. The question here is that if this is going to be the attitude of local party men towards authorities, then precisely where does that leave the people?

If a complaint to the local administration is met with such violent responses where officials get beaten black-and-blue and are forced to retreat to safety, how safe are the local communities? We condemn this brazen act of muscle power which has challenged the authority of the State and its officials. Such lawlessness cannot go unanswered and we expect the local administration to bring these criminals to justice and put a stop to the illegal sand lifting that has been going on with impunity.