A number of unethical housing companies have been accused of dredging sand through illegally dug tunnels under the Dhaka Bypass Highway in Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj.
These illegal activities reportedly going on in broad daylight will likely weaken the foundation of the Shitalakshya River embankment built by the Water Development Board and endanger the lives of locals if there is a flood.
Over 20 dredging pipes currently run under different sections of the bypass without permission from the authorities.
According to local administration sources, several housing companies are using sand from the other side of the highway to landfill their projects on the eastern bank of the Shitalakshya River.
This correspondent on a visit spotted these dredging pipes at the Kaladi Boro Mosque area.
Locals fear thousands of families will be prone to severe flood casualties, given the dam shielding them is near the sand extraction zone.
Contacted, Enayet Kabir, an engineer for the Local Government and Engineering Department, claimed to not have any authority and said: “This bypass works project is a concern of the Road and Highways department; we have no jurisdiction in the matter.”
Rupganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mumtaz said she had sent upazila Assistant Commissioner (land) Toriqul Islam to the site but was unable to catch the culprits in the act.
“The housing companies dredging sand and using it to landfill their project are violating the law and on top of that they are also destroying state property. We shall take prompt action in this regard,” she said.
Locals say the sand traders claimed they got permission from the Roads and Highways Department before drilling tunnels and setting up their dredging pipes.
However, Roads and Highways Department Engineer Shakhawat Hossain rejected the claim and said: "The RHD never permits such intrusion through the highway."
The official also said he has communicated with the people responsible and will make sure these illegal activities are stopped.
