Save Someshwari from being hollowed out
Yet another river is on its deathbed because of indiscriminate sand mining. And as with most of these deaths, political influentials are behind it while the Department of Environment (DoE) and other relevant authorities turn a blind eye. The river in question, as per our report, is the Someshwari in Netrakona which has fallen prey to hundreds of dredging machines excavating its sand. It is unfathomable why the government is allowing such incursions despite its commitment to save rivers and a High Court verdict declaring rivers as "living entities." How is it possible for a former lawmaker to deploy 1,000 dredgers to carry out illegal sand-lifting operations round the clock?
The answer is simple. Being politically connected has given him impunity to do this, as many others like him. Reportedly, the former MP's workers have even built a dirt road by filling up sections of the river with sand. A picture on yesterday's front page shows clearly how the river has been narrowed and how innumerable dredgers have been brought in, putting the whole area at risk of erosion.
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This aggressive and unregulated extraction is destroying plant and fish habitats, depriving fishermen of their livelihoods and decimating the riverbanks. Strangely, a DoE official has said that he had no knowledge of these activities, which begs the question: what is the role of this department if it is not even aware of individuals blatantly defying environment laws? The local administration has apparently sent four letters to the ex-lawmaker asking him to stop operating unauthorised dredgers. But it was the same administration that had granted the person four out of the five "balu mahals."
Meanwhile, in Mymensingh, bamboo structures have been placed in another river, the Ayman, obstructing its flow and preventing local villagers from using it at those points. According to a report, the local mayor and his men are allegedly involved in cordoning off those points for their own purposes. Again, these structures have been built in violation of environmental laws. If they are not removed, we will witness a slow death of this century-old tributary of the Brahmaputra.
Over the years, this paper has published innumerable reports on rivers, canals and other water bodies being encroached upon, hollowed out, or rendered dead because of indiscriminate disposal of waste. But nothing seems to be swaying the relevant authorities to take effective preventive action. Why have the polluters, encroachers and sand traders not been punished for destroying our natural resources? Unless the government ensures strict enforcement of laws and punishment of the violators, regardless of their political affiliation, we will continue to witness this mindless killing of our lifelines.
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