THE ecological loss at the Sadapathar stone quarry in Sylhet is a case of a complete enforcement failure of all authorities. The largest stone quarry at Bholaganj, a wide, shallow section of the River Dholai with white stones, has been one of Sylhet鈥檚 most visited tourist spot for decades. But it now stands ruined, marked with muck and pits and the characteristic white stones are all gone. Local people say the stones are extracted in the form of organised looting carried out on a large scale and backed by politically influential quarters. Green activists say that the indiscriminate extraction has increased after the fall of the Awami League regime in August 2024 while the local administration has remained a spectator. The involvement of local leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the illegal extraction activities is also reported. A legally protected area is destroyed in plain sight while the adviser for environment to the interim government, known for her environmental activism, ridicules the 鈥榓ll-party consensus on environmental destruction鈥� but takes no effective action to stop the destruction.
After years of advocacy against illegal stone extraction using heavy machinery, in 2020, the fallen Awami League government cancelled leases for all Sylhet quarries. This January, the High Court overturned the earlier order allowing stone extraction to resume. In April, the government decided to suspend the lease of 17 quarries out of the 51 in the country. The environment ministry says that no leases will be given for quarries that are under court injunction or located within ecologically critical areas. However, they have failed to enforce the order. The deputy commissioner in Sylhet brushes aside allegations of negligence, noting that they would hold a meeting on stopping the stone looting and decide further steps. Their action, which comes after the quarry has lost its natural resources becoming a tragic site of environmental destruction, is a shocking display of negligence. The failure to protect the Sadapathar area is not an isolated incident. There has been no significant progress in restoring canals in Dhaka or illegally encroached river land. The lead poisoning situation has worsened, with 98 per cent of children being exposed to high levels of lead in Dhaka. The decision to enforce a ban on the use of polythene bags is also not successful.
The ecological loss at the stone quarry that happened largely during the tenure of the interim government is unacceptable and the chief adviser should take action against all responsible, including the environment ministry.
