Sand lifting from Teesta bank rampant
Sand is being extracted illegally from the Teesta river in some places of Mahishkhocha union in Lalmonirhat's Aditmari upazila, making the river bank vulnerable to erosion.
Aditmari Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Raojatun Jannat led a mobile court drive against the illegal sand extraction recently. A dredger machine was demolished in the union's Dakshin Balapara area. Three sand extractors were detained on the spot and fined Tk 50,000 each.
Officer-in-charge (OC) of Aditmari police station Mozammel Haque confirmed the matter.
The detainee sand miners are -- Ariful Islam, 33, Dulu Mia, 36, from Mahishkhocha village; and Nuruzzaman Mia, 37, from Mahisha Shahor village in Aditmari upazila.
As the head of this syndicate has not yet been detained, sand is extracted again after paying the fined money to the mobile court after its drives
Locals said a syndicate has been illegally extracting sand from Teesta river and selling it for the past six months. As the syndicate members are politically influential, locals do not dare to protest against them.
The administration sometimes conducts raids and fines the sand mining workers. But the members of the syndicate are not detained, they alleged.
In the last six months, the syndicate has illegally earned crores by selling illegally extracted sand.
Nader Islam, a farmer in Gobordhan area, said the Teesta riverbank is under threat of erosion due to illegal sand extraction. Because of this, locals of the riverside areas will face losses in the upcoming monsoon.
As the head of this syndicate has not yet been detained, sand is extracted again after paying the fined money to the mobile court after its drives, he said.
"Syndicate members are profiting by selling sand but we are facing losses. We have to lose arable land and homesteads due to river erosion. We, the riverside people, are very helpless," he added.
Farmer Samad Mia, 65, of Dakshin Balapara village said the roads in the village have been damaged due to the transportation of sand by heavy trucks. It will be difficult for them to travel through these roads during monsoon.
Asked, Raojatun Jannat said the mobile court operation against illegal sand extraction is ongoing.
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