Illegal sand mining goes on unabated in Kurigram

KURIGRAM, Jan 16 (UNB): Reckless and illegal sand extraction from the riverbed and banks in villages of Rajibpur Upazila of Kurigram district is causing untimely river erosion and threatening nearby homesteads.

Some influential figures of the area are running a rampant sand mining business right under the noses of the administration, which shows no sign of taking any actions against them, locals complained.

They said that the administration was not playing any role in this regard as some influential people of the area are running the business.

Row upon row of dredging machines are helping the sand miners to illegally lift sand from the banks of Brahmaputra, Jinjiram, and Sonavari rivers in Rajibpur Upazila of Kurigram. There is a lucrative market for the extracted sands as the fast-growing economy has a booming construction sector, particularly civic infrastructure. Concrete, paved roads, ceramics, metallurgy, petroleum fracking, even the glass on smartphones, all require sand, and river sand is best.

But sand mining can change the course of rivers over time, bringing about profound changes in the lives of those who live on a river's banks, and are usually dependent on it for their livelihoods. In Kurigram, the residents of the following villages are most apprehensive of the impact of sand mining on the rivers flowing through the district: Mohanganj, Char Newaji, Kodalkati, Baul Para, Baliamari, Rajibpur, Munsipara are under threat.

A resident of one village, wishing anonymity due to fear of the sand mafia, told the news agency of the fear they harbour of a dredging machine owner named Uzzal Hossain, who is known to belong to a bandit group. If anyone speaks against him, he has threatened to plunder them. He intimidated of plunderage if anyone dares to spill a word against them .'

Matiur Rahman, a dredger owner, told the news agency: "Money can buy everything if someone is willing to pay. We just have to pay in Tk 2000 per month "

Shamim Hossain, who we saw operating a dredging machine owned by someone else, said: "I have the permission to work here as the Awami League president of Rajibpur Upazila Abdul Hai Sarkar officially inaugurated the project."

Contacted, Awami League president Abdul Hai Sarkar denied the allegation and said: "I have a dredger machine for extracting sand but we are using it on government projects for constructing roads and Water Development Board's project."