Illegal stone extraction from Piain river going on unabated

SYLHET, Oct 15: Some organised groups had been engaged in stone extraction activities by using 'boma machines' from the Piain riverbed.
The local administration had launched special drives several times but could not restrain even them.
Meanwhile, to avoid the task force operation and drives, the groups, now doing their job at night, a number of locals alleged. They said the whole area become 'live' with diggers continue illegal digging for stones from 8.00pm to 7.00am.
SM Ekramul Kabir, manager of the Fotehpur Tea Garden, said the garden had already lost over 300 acres of the plantation area in recent years.
With continued erosion due to the illegal extraction, the poor labourers are worried much whether they would be able to saving the old tea plantations and their livelihood. "For saving tea lands, we have to spend much of our time to lodging complaints with officials against the illegal digging." The manager said, "We had lodged specific allegations of stone extraction at night with the Divisional Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner weeks ago," he added.
Contacted, the Regional Coordinator of the in the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers' Association (BELA) Shah Shaheda Akhtar told this correspondent on Sunday that with a target to saving the environment and ecology a high division bench in 2010 clamped ban on use of emchanised tools for stone extraction. "Besides, for violation of the ban order, we had filed a contempt case, which is now pending," she added.
On the other hand, the government in 2015 declared the 14.93 sqaure kilometer area around Ecologically Critical area (ECA). The organized groups still had been engaged in stone collection by 'boma machines' although the Jafflong area is a tourist site. Even they do it during night to avoid actions, she added.
An official in the district administration however said there had been regular drives by the task force headed by an executive magistrate with officials from police, environment etc. "Twenty boma machines were destroyed last week," he added, "We would continue such steps to stop the illegal extraction."

iqbal1527@hotmail.com