1.5m cft stones restored in Sylhet's Sadapathar

SYLHET, Aug 31: About 1.5 million cubic feet (cft) of stones were restored in tourist attraction Sadapathar out of the estimated 2.8 million cft seized from various places during drives in the district, sources from the district administration and law enforcers said.
In line with a court order, the authorities conducted the drives to seize the looted stones and initiated the restoration process.
About 500 labourers, 400 boats, and 300 trucks are being used for restoring the stones at Sadapathar, officials informed. In the latest drive, 200,000 cft stones were recovered by magistrates, police, and RAB from four ponds at Dhopagul and Lalbag area of Sylhet on Saturday and Sunday. The restoration may take few days more, Sylhet Deputy Commissioner Md. Sarwar Alam said.
Indiscriminate stone and sand looting left various spots, including popular tourist site Sadapathar, almost barren. Environment activists and experts said bringing the natural sites to its previous state may take some time since stones roll down with waters from the upstream of Meghalaya hills.
Meanwhile, tourists from Sylhet as well as other parts of the country resumed their visits to Sadapathar, after a break for about two weeks in total. Tourism almost came to a halt as indiscriminate stone looting at Sadapathar received widespread media coverage and became a national concern.
Although the tourist spots are yet to return to their previous beauty, people are enjoying the most popular tourist locations, locals said.
Anti Corruption Commission, Energy and Mineral Resources Division and Cabinet Division, among others conducted separate probes.
The CID is now conducting their investigation into the looting.