While the public outcry over the widespread looting of white stones from Sadapathar, a popular tourist destination at Companiganj in Sylhet, is still on, a group of unscrupulous people continues looting stones from two spots of bordering Jaintapur and Kanaighat upazilas in the district.
The public outcry prompted the government to launch on August 14 drives against the looters who have political connections and take other administrative measures to check stone thefts.
Sylhet sadar upazila nirbahi officer Khushnur Rubaiyat told 抖阴精品 that they recovered more stones measuring 5,100 cubic feet from a paddy field during a drive conducted Monday afternoon in Salia area under the upazila and held a man for his involvement in looting the stones from Sadapathar.
鈥楾he arrested was handed over to the Biman Bandar police station in the evening to take legal steps against him,鈥� the UNO said.
With the latest recovery, about 4.95 lakh cft of the stones looted from Sadapathar in Bholaganj area at Companiganj upazila have so far been recovered in different drives since August 14.
According to environment rights activists and local people, more than 20 million cubic feet of stones have been looted from the Sadapathar tourist spot and Jaflong area under Goainghat upazila in the district since the fall of authoritarian Awami League regime on August 5 past year.
They alleged that unscrupulous people having political connections took advantage of fragile law and order situation in the country after the 2024 political changeover to loot stones.
On Monday, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party suspended its Companiganj upazila president Salah Uddin for his suspected involvement in the widespread looting of stones from Sadapathar.
Meanwhile, the public administration ministry on Monday appointed law adviser鈥檚 private secretary Md Sarwoer Alam as the Sylhet deputy commissioner, replacing Muhammad Sher Mahmud Murad who was made an officer on special duty amid allegations of the local administration鈥檚 silence over the widespread looting of stones.
Besides, Companiganj upazila nirbahi officer Azizunnahar was also replaced by Fencuganj UNO Mohammed Shafiqul Islam on the same day, according to an order issued by the Sylhet divisional commissioner Khan Md Reza-Un-Nabi.
Local people said that some unscrupulous people had been looting large-sized stones from Rangpani tourist spot in Sreepur area under Jaintapur upazila in the district for several months.
They alleged that the looters took these stones in broad daylight but the administration did not take any step to prevent the looting of stones as well as the environment at the tourist spot.
Jaintapur upazila assistant commissioner (land) Rajna Akhter Laboni told 抖阴精品 on Monday that their campaign to protect natural resources at Rangpani was going on regularly.
People at Kanaighat upazila told 抖阴精品 that a dishonest quarter comprised mostly of local political leaders, continued to extract stone illegally from the Lova River.
They alleged that stones were being extracted without any hindrance at night and then the stones were being removed mentioning these as the stones sold in auction.
The outgoing Sylhet DC, however, told reporters that the company, which bought the stones, had been given 45 days to remove the stones and the time was extended later by another 30 days, but the stipulated time expired.
Kamrul Hasan Chowdhury, owner of the construction company M/s Pius Enterprises, claimed that he was not illegally extracting any new stones and he was only removing stones he had bought in the auction.
Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association鈥檚 Sylhet unit general secretary Shah Shahida Akter, however, alleged that the group was also lifting new stones indiscriminately using the auction paper as a shield, severely damaging the natural flow of the Lova River and the surrounding environment.
