Rapid urbanisation is driving the demand for sand up in Bangladesh, leading to uncontrolled and mostly illegal extraction of sandstone and rocks from the riverbeds. The hunger for sand is threatening the flood protection embankments of many rivers and putting farmlands at risk, threatening the livelihoods of local farmers. About 100 acres of cultivable land in Kalia Upazila of Narail has been swallowed by the Nabaganga river due to illegal sand extraction with dredgers. Many houses and croplands in Hasla and Patkelbari villages have been destroyed. This year, 13 pucca and semi-pucca houses of nine families have been damaged, two brickfields and more than 300 trees have been washed away by the river while three brickfields and five houses are under threat. Sand extraction is a continuous challenge for many rivers in the Sylhet region, but the government has failed to stop the practice that destabilises the river ecology.
Locals said three-hundred-year-old Shuktagram Bazar, Shuktagram Kumar and Char Para, Hasla, Chanderchar, Patkelbari and Kanchanpur villages of Babla-Hasla union of Kalia Upazila are affected by riverbank erosion every year for over three decades. What is most unfortunate is that despite written complaints by the villagers to the authorities, nothing substantial has been done to stop the mindless practice of sand mining. The local administration said they are looking into the matter.
Last month, massive erosion occurred in the Meghna river due to sand mining in Bhola, displacing at least 20,000 people. The erosion could not be averted, despite several steps undertaken by the Water Development Board of Bhola. Locals said though the government has been spending crores of taka to build embankments, a vested quarter is extracting sand near the embankments posing threats to various establishments including the embankments. The administration should take strong measures to stop illegal sand extraction. The Environment Ministry should take immediate steps to punish the perpetrators.
