Workers' lives must trump profit

On March 10, another stone quarry worker was killed while illegally extracting stones in the Jaflong area of Gowainghat upazila in Sylhet, bringing this year's death toll at illegal stone quarries in the district to 21. Illegal extraction of stone from quarries also killed 32 workers last year, besides endangering the environment of the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) in Jaflong, where stone collection, whether manual or through machines, is banned altogether, as per a 2010 court order.

While the death toll from illegal stone extraction continues to rise, what has been shocking is the apathy of the authorities to take the necessary actions to bring it to an absolute halt. For example, after the court order, it took the authorities concerned three years to deem the 14.93km area in Jaflong as an ECA, while its boundaries are yet to even be marked. What is the reason for this?

As this newspaper reported last year, there is apparently a strong syndicate that is involved in stone quarrying and in which, allegedly, the police, journalists and powerful persons are involved. And questions had been raised before as to the reluctance of authorities to disclose the findings of a previous quarry disaster, while coverups of deaths at illegal stone quarries too have been reported.

What all of this suggests is that the various laws and regulations that exist in regards to illegal stone extraction are not only being violated on a regular basis, but also that a powerful nexus is benefitting because of it while more and more workers lose their lives in the process. The authorities need to take urgent measures to arrest this syndicate and ensure quarry workers' safety and security.