The Sharankhola upazila administration of Bagerhat has destroyed a boring dredger that is very harmful to the environment.
Sand was being lifted from a government canal at Hogalpati village with the banned dredger, putting several nearby settlements and garden houses under threat.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Noor-e Alam Siddiqui went to the spot on Sunday afternoon and seized the dredger before destroying it.
However, the owner of the dredger was not found.
Locals said dredger owner Sumon Sharif had lifted sand for three-four days by installing the dredger in a government canal to fill a land of one Liton Panchayat of the village.
As a result of the excavation, some settlements on both sides of the canal were in danger. Moreover, the dredger's loud noise and vibration created panic among people. Later, they informed the administration about the matter.
It is learned that this boring dredger is made with powerful shallow machines, which is very harmful to the environment. With this dredger, a pipe is inserted deep into the soil by creating vibration.
By lifting sand through vibration, the bottom of the soil is hollowed out, causing the surroundings to cave in slowly. For this reason, the boring dredger is called a suicide dredger in the local language.
UNO Noor-e Alam said the dredger was seized for extracting sand from the government canal illegally.
