Illegal stone extraction: Joint drive destroys 50 stone extraction machines in Sylhet

A joint drive of Department of Environment (DoE), Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) destroyed 50 machines used to extract stones illegally at Bichnakandi area of Sylhet's Gowainghat upazila today.

The drive, led by DoE, started around 12:00pm and concluded around 6:00pm, reports our Sylhet correspondent quoting Mohammed Amran Hossain, director of DoE Sylhet Divisional office.

During the drive, the DoE found that stone traders dug up pits 150-200 feet deep using the stone excavation machines, known locally as "boma machines".

Learning of the drive, many stone extractors hid their machines under sand and by wrapping them in sacks, the DoE official said, adding that they found those machines and destroyed them all.

The machines were worth Tk 1 crore, he said.

A case is under process in this connection, he informed.