Hundreds of villagers chased away illegal sand miners along the banks of the Meghna River in Munshiganj. The incident took place in two phases from Thursday morning to 12 noon in the Char Abdullah and Kawadi areas of Sadar Upazila. Tension is rising between local villagers and the illegal sand miners.
Villagers have alleged that people belonging to district BNP convening committee member Shahadat Hossain Sarkar, local Kibria Miji and BNP leader Liton Miji are illegally extracting sand from cropland outside the leased area.
It was learned from eyewitnesses that BNP leaders Shahadat Hossain Sarkar, Kibria Miji and Liton Miji are locally influential. They started extracting sand along the river bank with their own forces this morning in the Char Abdullah area with more than a hundred dredgers. Although the local villagers expressed their anger, they did not pay attention and instead continued to extract sand by showing fear. At around 9 am, the residents of the Char Abdullah area gathered together and chased the sand extractors with sticks and trawlers. At this time, tension started between the two sides. At one stage, the illegal sand extractors were forced to leave Char Abdullah village. Later, at around 10 am, the group went to the nearby village of Kawadai with a dredger. There too, they started extracting sand next to the cropland on the river bank. Later, the people of that village gathered and chased them.
Nekmat Bepari of Kawadi village said, “All the lands in our village are for three crops. There are some lands where water does not rise even during the monsoon. The lands are also very fertile. The main occupation of the people in our village is agriculture. However, the BNP leader and the gang of naval robbers have illegally encroached on our lands and started looting sand. If we stop them, they are threatening to burn our houses.”
Local farmer Motaleb Bepari said that the gang had been cutting sand near their land for 10 to 15 days before Eid-ul-Adha. They started again after Eid. If they continue cutting like this, their land and houses will be destroyed. He complained that the administration is not taking any action.
Regarding the allegations, BNP leader Shahadat Hossain Sarkar said, “We have legally taken the lease of Balumahal by spending crores of taka. We extract sand in those areas as per the rules as shown by the administration. However, people of the Awami League government were extracting sand in that area illegally for a long time. At that time, they used to give money to some local people regularly. Since we took it legally, we stopped giving them money. That is why those people have misled the common people and made them stand against us. We have not extracted sand illegally from any place.”
According to district administration sources, in the current fiscal year, the district administration leased 150 acres of sand in the river in Madhyachar Ramazanbeg Mouza. The sand palace was leased for 13 crore 88 lakh 88 thousand 889 taka to BNP leader Shahadat Hossain, owner of Messrs. Samrat Traders. The 150-acre sand palace in Bhashanchar Mouza was leased for 8 crore 12 lakh 50 thousand taka to GS Monir Hossain, owner of Messrs. Monir Enterprise. However, Shahadat Hossain Sarkar, Kibria Miji and Liton Mijira are leading the two sand palaces. The two organizations were given permission to extract sand from a depth of 800 feet in the river. However, sand is being extracted on the river bank and outside the lease area without complying with any conditions.
Some locals, who asked not to be named, said that during the Awami League government, Awami League people illegally mined sand in the name of Balumahal lease for a long time. Due to which many farmers’ lands have disappeared into the river. Now BNP people have started mining sand more recklessly. Those involved in sand mining have immense power. Therefore, they are mining sand outside the lease area, adjacent to cropland. If the administration does not take action now, the houses of the villages along the banks of the Meghna along with cropland will disappear into the river.
Munshiganj Deputy Commissioner Fatematul Jannat told Prothom Alo, “We have already come to know about the matter. If anyone takes advantage of the lease and illegally extracts sand, harming cropland and people, we will take action against them as soon as possible.”
Source: Prothom Alo
