Illegal sand traders back in business

With a number of media reports on illegal sand mining by politically powerful quarters published in recent months, we had hoped that strong legal action would be taken against them by the responsible authorities. But instead, we are observing a different scenario. According to a report by this daily, two local Awami League leaders, who were previously fined for illegally extracting sand from the Meghna River and were ordered to vacate an illegally occupied part of the river, are back in business at full throttle. They have allegedly encroached upon a portion of the Meghna in the Char Hogla village, in Shambhupura union of Narayanganj, and filled that up to store sand.

We must ask: how could the duo turn a part of the riverbed into a sand field under the very nose of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), which is the responsible authority here? Also, was the previous BIWTA order to vacate the occupied part even implemented? If not, why?

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How the sand mafia is killing our rivers

Over the years, illegal and indiscriminate sand extraction has emerged as one of the biggest threats to our rivers and their surrounding areas. Such activities not only damage a river's ecosystem, but are also a major reason for riverbank erosion, destruction of farmland, and rivers drying up. By now, many of our major rivers have faced the onslaught of illegal sand lifters, including the Meghna, the Jamuna and the Teesta.

This daily reported in October how a local powerful political leader of Chandpur, Selim Khan, was running an illegal sand trade with the blessings of a minister. Like Selim Khan, other sand traders are also carrying on with their business with political patronage and impunity. These politically connected sand traders hardly comply with any laws, such as the Balumohal and Soil Management Act, 2010 (amended in 2023), according to which sand mining is banned within one kilometre of bridges, culverts, dams, barrages, roads, etc.

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Shall we just bow to illegal sand lifters?

How can we stop the sand mafia from plundering our rivers? First and foremost, the government needs to make a strong political commitment to save all our rivers from any kind of harm, including illegal sand mining. Our political leaders must stop patronising illegal sand traders, and the authorities responsible, including the BIWTA, must be made accountable for their failure to stop the constant onslaught on our rivers. Most importantly, the relevant laws must be enforced without any exception.

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