Around 250,000 cubic feet of stones looted from quarries and tourist spots in Sylhet were recovered from Sadar upazila on Saturday.
The operations were led by Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Khushnoor Rubaiyath and Assistant Commissioner (Land) M Abdullah Ibna Masud Ahamed, with participation from the army, police, Ansar, and other forces.
The joint forces conducted the operation from 10am to 2:30pm, as part of a drive that began Wednesday night to retrieve stones illegally taken from various areas of the district, including white stone.
The fourth-day operation in Sadar upazila saw two drives in the Dhopagul and Mahaldiq areas. About 130,000 cubic feet of stones were recovered from each area. Some stones were found stacked in front of crusher machines, while others were hidden under soil, sand, and tarpaulin along roads and near houses.
“Nearly 250,000 cubic feet of stones were recovered in the joint forces’ operation. Some stones are still hidden in other locations, and efforts are ongoing to recover them,” UNO Khushnoor Rubaiyath said.
In February 2020, the then government had issued directives in February 2020 to stop stone and sand extraction from quarries. Local sources said some Awami League leaders after that, had facilitated illegal extraction under the cover of night.
Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, quarries in Sylhet reportedly came under the control of BNP and allied groups, allowing stone workers to extract stones openly.
Uncontrolled looting has left Shah Arefin Tila in Companiganj, Bholaganj quarry, reserved bunker areas, and Jaflong in Gowainghat largely depleted. In the past four months, stone extraction resumed in the white stone area, and a week-long looting nearly emptied it.