Legal notice served on 5 govt offices over illegal sand extraction from Meghna

A legal notice has been served on five government offices over the illegal sand extraction along a 20-kilometre stretch of the Meghna river in Brahmanbaria's Sarail upazila.

Barrister Iftekhar Ahmed, a Supreme Court lawyer, yesterday sent the notice on behalf of two residents -- Md Delowar Hossain of Rajapur village and Md Judge Ahmed of Ranidiya village in Aruail union.

According to the notice, grabbers have long been extracting sand illegally from the river in the areas, endangering the surrounding settlements and posing serious environmental threats due to riverbank erosion. As a result, the livelihoods of nearly 1,00,000 people across 16 villages, including Rajapur, Pakshimul, Chunta, Panishwar and Dubajaile, are at serious risk.

The notice was sent to the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the deputy commissioner of Brahmanbaria, the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Sarail, and the chairman of Aruail Union Parishad.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Barrister Iftekhar Ahmed said, "We have urged the authorities to take immediate action against the illegal sand extraction under the Balumahal and Soil Management Act. If no steps are taken, legal action will be taken."

Sarail UNO Md Mosharraf Hossain said that if the rivers are not properly dredged, silt gradually accumulates, forming shoals, which eventually leads to erosion on both banks due to strong currents.

The sand extractors have taken the lease of 11-acre area at Dubajaile village, but they are now extracting sand allegedly from the adjacent areas, he added. "We are going to the scene to witness the matter," he said.

"That is why dredging has been initiated in the area through the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority following a survey," he said.

"Now, objections are being raised regarding the sand extraction because of disputes between the involved party and a rival group," he added.

Contacted, Brahmanbaria Deputy Commissioner Md Didarul Alam said, "We will investigate whether there is any irregularity in the sand extraction process."