-10 million cubic feet of stone looted
- Estimated market value Tk 100 cr
- Admins fears of being attack by miscreants
-Allegation on BNP leaders
Jaflong of Sylhet is known as a natural paradise and a beautiful tourist destination for people of all over the country. This popular tourist destination is now under threat due to the greed of stone and sand looters. The Piyain (Dawki) river has entered Bangladesh from the Khasia-Jainta hill range near the Meghalaya border of India, 62 kilometers from Sylhet city. The stones flowing through that river are a major source of income for the locals. The Gowainghat upazila administration measures the stone stock in Jaflong locally and keeps a monthly account. On July 26, there was about 37.4 million cubic feet of stone stock in Jaflong. On August 5, at around 8:15 pm, a group of miscreants damaged the CCTV cameras there. A few weeks later, at least 10 million cubic feet of stone was looted from the area around the Piyain and Goain rivers adjacent to the Jaflong Zero Point, with an estimated market value of Tk 100 crore, according to officials.
Locals say that after the looting of the stone, sand mining is now going on freely there. The river basin and biodiversity are under threat due to sand mining almost every day. Extortion is also being collected every day in the name of the administration and BNP.
Talking to traders in Jaflong Bazar, it was learned that after the change of power in August, a group first started looting stones around the Jaflong tourist center. They are now looting sand by 'managing' the local administration. Hundreds of trucks of sand are being lifted from the river every day and stored in different places. When asked about this, the voice of Goainghat Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Saidul Islam sounded helpless. He said that they are unable to do anything even after conducting raids. An upazila administration official said that at least 'a few thousand' people are needed to conduct a one-day campaign to stop sand mining in Jaflong, which is almost impossible in reality. If you go on a campaign with fewer people, you risk being attacked. In the past few days, 11 cases have been filed by the upazila administration, the Department of Environment and the police over illegal sand and stone mining.
Among the accused in these cases are Rafiqul Islam Shahparan, the recently former joint secretary of Sylhet district BNP, and Shah Alam Swapan, former treasurer and former chairman of Gowainghat upazila. Locals allege that they are the 'masterminds' of the sand mining in Jaflong. After the allegations were made, Shahparan's post was suspended and Swapan was expelled by BNP. Advocate Shah Shaheda Akhtar, coordinator of the Sylhet division of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), said, "Initially, there was looting in Jaflong. Now business is going on; this is being done in front of the administration. Recently, press conferences, human chains and memorandums are being submitted to the administration against the court's verdict demanding the opening of the Sylhet quarry." When attention was drawn to this issue, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Sher Mahbub Murad said, "Regular campaigns are underway to stop illegal sand and stone extraction in Sylhet. If someone gives us information, we are conducting campaigns.
In 2015, Jaflong was declared an Environmentally Critical Area (ECA) in response to Bela's application. In addition, the main authority of the stone quarry, the Bangladesh Mineral Resources Development Bureau (BMDC), has stopped stone extraction in eight stone quarries in Sylhet, including Jaflong, from February 2020 as per the High Court's directive. As the district administration implemented the BMDC's decision, stones coming in the water of Indian rivers started accumulating in Jaflong and Bholaganj again. These stones accumulated in the last four years are now being looted. Several sand and stone traders in Jaflong have said that the financial value of the stones looted in Jaflong since August will not be less than Tk 200 crore. Currently, sand is being extracted using four to five thousand barki boats every day. Barki workers sell sand on the riverbank for Tk 10 per foot. Traders buy the sand and store it at their convenience. Later, the sand is sent to different parts of the country. The names of Dilwar Hossain Dilu, president of the Jaflong Sand Traders Association, and Sameed Mia, president of the Truck Drivers Association, also come up in the words of traders in Gowainghat. They also say that Tk 2,500 is being charged from each bomb machine for lifting stones, and Tk 500 from traders. Recently, when we went to the bridge area of Jaflong Bazar, we saw that workers were unloading stones from barki boats on the market bank of the Dawki River. At least 200 trucks have been parked on the riverbank; stones are taken to the crusher mills in those trucks. Stones are being extracted by boat using at least 50 'bomb machines' on the north side of the river.
The soil under the bridge is being removed due to indiscriminate sand and stone extraction. Erosion has occurred on the banks of the Jaflong tea garden adjacent to the west bank of the river. Sand and stone extraction has been seen from the Jaflong Bridge on the river to the Mama's Shop area, Ballaghat and Zero Point. The most number of barki boats has been seen in the Ballaghat and Mama's Shop areas. Three to five thousand barki boats are being used to extract sand from both banks of the Piyain River.
We spoke to Akram Hossain, a sand trader in the bridge area of Jaflong Bazar. He said that sand in the river bridge area is sold at tk 17 per foot. And sand in the zero point area is sold at Tk 20 to 22 to different parts of the country. “Big traders buy sand from barki workers on the river bank, then take it to the site in trucks and sell it. Stones are not being lifted now. However, if you go to the bridge area, you will find some stones.
Rimon, a barki worker from Jamalganj upazila of Sunamganj district, has been lifting stones in Jaflong for the past one and a half months. He earns Tk 1200 to 1500 daily from this work. Rimon said, “First I used to lift stones, now I lift sand. Sand worth hundreds of crore of taka is being lifted every day.”
Assistant Director of Sylhet Environment Department Md Badrul Huda and Inspector of the department Md Mamunur Rashid have filed a case with the Gowainghat Police Station accusing 22 people of illegally lifting sand and stones. There are a total of 114 accused in the two cases. Shahjahan Siddiqui, convener of Gowainghat Upazila Jubo Dal, expressed disappointment over the involvement of BNP leaders in this. He said, “We are very upset about the illegal sand extraction. BNP’s central acting chairman Tarique Rahman has clearly informed the leaders and activists of Upazila Jubo Dal and Chhatra Dal that no illegal work will be done.” Shahjahan said, “Basically, some people are doing this in the name of BNP and the administration. I have heard that the gang is collecting Tk 500 to 200 to dump trucks used to transport 500 feet of sand every day. I have informed the OC and UNO about this matter. “If this is true, then we will go on a program with Jubo Dal. We want to save Jaflong, if this situation continues, Jaflong will be destroyed.
We want everyone’s cooperation to save Jaflong.” Former Gowainghat Upazila chairman Shah Alam Swapan is on bail in a case filed by the Department of Environment. He claims that he 'does not know anything' about sand mining. Swapan said, "It is the work of the workers. We have formed a human chain demanding that the stone quarry be opened legally." And District BNP Joint Secretary (post suspended) Rafiqul Islam Shahparan has made a counter-allegation against the Awami League over the sand mining incident. He said, "I am not involved in all this. A clique of the Awami League is doing this. The extortion issue is being handled by the previous syndicate." When asked about the allegations, Jaflong-Ballaghat Sand Traders Association President Dilu Mia said, "The issue of extorting Tk 500 from each truck is not right. You should talk to the truck workers' president." And Jaflong Truck-Driver Association president Sameed Mia said, "The issue of extorting money is false. None of us are involved in the trouble after the 5th. You should show evidence and make news. If there is truth, make news."
Gowainghat Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Md Saidul Islam said, “There is a ‘huge amount’ of sand from Jaflong Zero Point to the bridge. We are conducting regular operations against illegal sand extraction. But it is not being stopped because a group does not respect the law.” He said, “It has been done in multiple cases. We will quickly conduct a major operation in coordination with the joint forces; we have already talked to the administration. The upazila administration is conducting miking every day to stop sand extraction.” Gowainghat Police Station OC Tofail Ahmed said, “So far, 11 cases have been filed to stop sand extraction in the Jaflong area.
The Department of Environment is investigating the case. Several accused have been arrested in other cases. A large amount of sand and stone, along with goods, has also been seized. I have talked about conducting more operations in Jaflong; that will be done soon.” However, denying the issue of ‘managing’ sand extraction by the police administration, he said, “The police station police are taking a strict stance to stop illegal sand and stone extraction.” Gowainghat Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Touhidul Islam said that a proposal has been sent to set up a camp on the banks of the river with the joint forces to stop the extraction of sand and stones in the ecologically critical area of Jaflong. Regarding the daily collection of extortion in the name of the administration, he said, “A case has been filed for this. Those who are guilty have been made accused.”
Commenting on the chaos going on in Jaflong over stones and sand right in front of the administration, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association-Bela Sylhet Division Coordinator Shaheda Akhtar asked, “Those who are performing their duties as representatives of the government are also being subjected to contempt of court right in front of their eyes; I ask, is there nothing they can do in this case?” Professor Mohammad Zahirul Haque, Vice Chancellor of Sylhet Metropolitan University and organizer of Amara-Dhara for the Protection of the Earth, said that stones are Sylhet’s natural resources. There is no objection to extracting stones from the government-declared quarries using traditional methods without harming the environment. “But after the change in the political landscape, there is a festival of looting stones and sand from the Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) and Sapadhar and Bichnakandi in Jaflong.
Sylhet’s tourism industry is facing destruction. The High Court’s ban is being violated. The government is also not getting any revenue.” This researcher, who did his PhD on Sylhet’s stone sector from the London School of Oriental and African Studies, said, “Indiscriminate extraction of stones from the Piain and Dauki rivers in Jaflong and the Dhalai river in Bholaganj will divert the course of these rivers. Many areas will disappear into the riverbed; even a situation like border conflict may arise. "In the 1980s, an entire Khasi settlement called Sangram Punji in old Jaflong disappeared into the riverbed due to uncontrolled stone quarrying. If action is not taken, we may soon see something similar."
Professor Mohammad Zahirul Haque, a researcher who has done a PhD on the stone quarrying of Sylhet from the London School of Oriental and African Studies, said, “Indiscriminate stone quarrying in the Piyain and Dawki rivers in Jaflong and the Dhalai river in Bholaganj will divert the course of these rivers. Many areas will disappear into the river; even a situation like border conflict may arise. “In the 1980s, an entire Khasia settlement called Sangram Punji in old Jaflong disappeared into the riverbed due to uncontrolled stone quarrying. If measures are not taken, we may soon see something like this.
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