Ignoring a government ban, politically influential people have been allegedly running a profitable business of extracting stones from three rivers in Lalmonirhat – Dharla, Shaniajan and Singimari – significantly hurting the area’s environment.
Local administration has expressed concerns that a large portion of Patgram upazila might face a major landslide at any time, as mechanical extractors like dredgers have been lifting stones from the rivers and it adjacent areas at depths of over 100 meters, creating a hollow space underground.
“The district administration launches regular drives against them, but somehow they are continuing their activities with the help of political influence,” said Rafiqul Haque, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Patgram.
Citing an example, Rafiqul said although he had seized some stone extraction machines during a drive on April 8, some of the unscrupulous
people continued their operations at night time.
Professor Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), who specialises on water resources, also pointed out the risk of landslide, adding that stone extraction should not be carried out without any assessment of the particular soil structure.
The locals alleged that politically influential people – both from the Awami League and the BNP – have been carrying out the business of illegal stone extraction for almost two decades. Previously, the business was run by BNP-Jamaat men, while it is now controlled by Awami League men, they claimed, adding that the owners did not come to the spot as the local administration conducted regular raids.
Seeking anonymity, workers at different locations in the Burimari union said they were hired for a daily wage of Tk300-400 to lift stones from the rivers using dredgers.
Asked why the stone extraction could not be stopped, UNO Rafiqul told the Dhaka Tribune that most of the people involved had direct or indirect political affiliations and cared about nothing but earning profits.
At least 600 machines – each with an ability to extract 700 cubic feet of stones – have reportedly been extracting stone illegally from the three rivers since 2001.
In a recent visit to the area, the Dhaka Tribune found that the extractors were lifting stones along with a huge amount of sand from the Dharla River and piled up the sands to obstruct all the channels of the river.
Buet’s Professor Mujibur said lifting and piling sand along with stone chips would heighten the river bed, increasing the risk of flood over a vast area during monsoon.
Apart from the river area, the unscrupulous businesspeople have also been expanding their stone extraction operation in the nearby arable lands.
Seeking anonymity, a local Awami League leader told the Dhaka Tribune that the stone extraction activities were currently going on under the patronisation of ruling party MP Motahar Hossain.
However, the Dhaka Tribune failed to get any comment from the lawmaker on the issue, despite repeated attempts.
Alal Hossain, an Awami League leader of Patgram who was also involved in stone extraction, admitted the issue of political patronisation, adding that at least 15,000 workers and their families were directly or indirectly dependent on stone extraction, although it was declared illegal by the government.
Along with inflicting environmental damage, the stone extraction business was also hurting the area’s roads, which were used by heavy trucks to load and unload stones.
Kholilur Rahman, executive engineer of Lalmonirhat’s Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED), told the Dhaka Tribune that he has sent a letter to the district authority to take necessary action in this regard.