Tragic deaths at stone quarries

Illegal stone extraction in Sylhet's border region goes on unabated but this makes news only when workers hired for collecting stones from quarries are killed and injured under the falling debris. In the latest such accidents -- one in Companiganj and the other in Jaintiapur -- on Sunday last six lives perished under chunks of falling earth. The Companiganj accident accounted for five workers and the Jaintia one for another life. In the last two months alone 16 workers lost their lives in similar accidents. The pattern of accident is similar because the excavator, locally called boma (bomb) machine, is used to dig holes underneath with top earth hanging precariously. Labourers engaged in collecting stones stand no chance of survival when heavy chunks of earth overhead come tumbling to bury them. In the four upazilas of Sylhet where such illegal stone extraction goes on, poor workers thus have to die quite so often.

The issue of stone lifting came under sharp focus when Jaflong was forced to wear a look of stone pits all around instead of the crystal clear water that came flowing from the beautiful hills on the Indian side of the border. Stone extraction by locals from Jaflong's 15 sqkm area close to Indo-Bangladesh border was declared illegal by a gazette notification issued by the government and prompted by the High Court. A tourist destination of scenic beauty, the Jaflong-Dawki river flowing from India was once so enchanting that people could not resist its appeal. But commercial stone collection has destroyed the tourist spot. Nowadays stone crushing machines on the roadside along a long stretch of the road leading to the tourist spot have not only given the area a look of a huge mining pit but also caused heavy pollution there.

At one point the administration in Jaflong became quite active to discourage stone collection. It destroyed a number of excavators and other implements used for stone lifting. But the drive did not last long. The illegal stone lifters were back with the backing of local influential politicians. No other quarries in the three other upazilas could draw as much attention as did Jaflong. But the death of workers at the quarries makes news. It is clear that the provisions as stipulated in the gazette notification in 2015 are applicable to illegal stone lifting anywhere in the Sylhet region. The problem is monitoring and implementation of the order.

Evidently, the accidents are happening at an atrociously frequent rate. This is all because of the surreptitious nature of the activity by the stone lifters. They are quite aware of the illegality of their operation. But it is the lure of lucre that proves irresistible to them. If the administration cannot prevent stone lifters from the illegal operation, the issue may be analysed dispassionately. Stone lifting may be made legal where feasibility study by a competent agency has been done. This can be done under the supervision of a committee comprising representatives from the Department of Environment, the Paribesh Bachao Andolon, the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association, the Save the Heritage and Environment and other relevant agencies. In that case the extraction of stone must follow proper safety rules and regulations for workers.