Mineral Plunder Continues Under Administration’s Nose in Sylhet’s ECA Zones

Local Correspondent

In Sylhet’s Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA), the illegal extraction of stones and sand continues unabated. Despite strict prohibitions, hundreds of boats, dredgers, and trucks are extracting thousands of cubic feet of minerals daily from hills, mounds, and river-based zones.

Environmental activists and local residents have expressed outrage over this unchecked plundering of natural resources and the authorities’ silence and inaction.

According to a gazette issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on January 8, 2015, a 14.93-square-kilometer area, including the Dauki River and its 500-meter buffer zones in Goainghat’s Jaflong stone quarry region, was declared an ECA. Clause 8 of the gazette explicitly prohibits any mechanical, manual, or other form of mineral extraction in the area. However, in reality, these regulations are being blatantly ignored.

Visits to various areas in Goainghat, Companiganj, and Bholaganj revealed continuous sand and stone extraction day and night. Locals claim that around 1,000 trucks transport 500 to 600 cubic feet of sand and stone daily from the Dauki River area. After sunset, large dredgers and steel boats begin bulk extraction, working throughout the night.

A local boatman from Jaflong disclosed that numerous boats cross the Jaflong Bridge over the Dauki River at night, dredging the river until midnight. The extracted minerals are then sold to middlemen, who distribute them across the country.

The situation is even worse in Bholaganj and Companiganj. Stone extraction continues openly in the Shah Arefin Hill area in broad daylight.

Locals allege that this illegal activity has not stopped for a single day since August 5 of last year. In Bholaganj’s scenic Railway Bunker area, trees have been cleared, leaving behind massive pits that now resemble wastelands.

Despite repeated protests by environmental activists, no effective action has been taken.

Locals say they have organized several resistance movements under banners like “Save the Rivers and Environment,” but the administration has failed to implement any concrete measures.

Recently, Goainghat Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Ratan Kumar Adhikari led a raid and confirmed the seizure of illegally extracted sand from the ECA.

Advocate Shah Shaheda Begum, coordinator of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) in Sylhet, stated, “The current scale of plundering is unprecedented. This is not just administrative failure but complete indifference.”

Meanwhile, Sylhet’s Deputy Commissioner Sher Mahbub Murad said, “We conduct regular drives, but due to manpower shortages, permanent control is difficult. Extraction resumes as soon as raids end. However, coordinated measures will soon be taken to stop this illegal activity.”

Locals, however, allege that apart from symbolic raids, no practical steps are being taken, allowing the ruthless plundering of Sylhet’s precious mineral resources to continue unchecked.