Despite a High Court ban, illegal sand lifting is going on unabated in Shohagpur area of Ashuganj in Brahmanbaria district.
Some major structures, especially the road and rail bridges on the river Meghna, Ashuganj river port and the Ashuganj Thermal Power Plant are feared to suffer if the river bank collapses due to erosion caused by the indiscriminate sand lifting.
A local construction company named Elegance has been extracting sand for its own commercial gain and that too without giving any tax to the government.
A recent visit to Sohagpur found a powerful dredger employed to lift sand, which was then loaded to a large boat.
Local people said the embankment on the Meghna River was in grave danger due to such illegal sand lifting. Syed Nazrul Islam bridge, Shahid Abdul Halim rail bridge, Ashuganj river port and the Ashuganj power plant were also under risk of erosion.
Since the Ashuganj river port was declared an international one, there has been rapid growth of infrastructure in the area. This has also led to increased demand in construction materials including sand.
The thermal power plant, which is a Key Point Installation (KPI) establishment, is expected to generate about 2,000 MW of electricity this year. But the plant may be at risk if the sand lifting is not checked.
Abu Asif Ahmed, chairman of Ashuganj upazila, said: “Almost all the units of the power plant is situated on the river bank. So if erosion occurs, they would be hit hard.”
He demanded administrative measures against the illegal sand traders.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer of Ashuganj Sandeep Kumar Singh said there was a High Court ban on lifting sand from Meghna. So he would take legal actions if anyone was found defying the ban.
Proprietor of the company Elegance, Javed Iqbal defended his act by saying that the sand lifting had approval of the authorities.
He also claimed that the bridges and the KPI establishments were not under any risk.
