Several years ago, the Someshwari river would draw locals in large numbers in Netrakona's Durgapur upazila. They would wade in water with fishing nets, bathe or stand on the banks with fishing lines.
This picture has now been replaced by an unpleasant one -- hundreds of dredging machines destroying the very nature that sustained life and livelihood.
An eight-kilometre stretch of the river in Durgapur has become a haven for those extracting sand from the riverbed in an unregulated manner, with former Awami League lawmaker Mushtaque Ahmed Ruhi dominating the local scene.
According to environmentalists, unregulated sand mining muddies the water, and destroys plant and fish habitats. It poses a severe threat to local biodiversity and livelihood.
Over the last six months, Ruhi, who was a lawmaker from Netrakona-1 in the 9th parliament, deployed nearly 1,000 dredgers that operate round the clock which is a clear violation of the Balumahal and Soil Management Act-2010.
During a recent visit, this correspondent found that Ruhi's workers built a dirt road by illegally filling sections of the river with sand.
The workers said around 1,000 trucks ply the road on a daily basis to carry the wet sand away. The truckers pay a fee for using the road.
Many of the dredgers used by Ruhi's men are locally made. Known as "Bangla dredgers", these devices use engines that pump sand from the riverbed to the bank.
According to the act, it is illegal to use such machines to dredge rivers.
In 2010, the local administration started giving permission for sand mining in the Someshwari, one of the country's transboundary rivers. This year, the administration leased out four of the five "balu mahals" in the area to Ruhi, said government officials.
Locals said traders have been dredging without regulation since the sand extraction began, threatening river ecology and nearby communities.
On October 18, this correspondent found no government officials at the spots to monitor sand mining activities.
Contacted, Ruhi said, "Swing cutter dredging machines, which are legal, are now being used to extract sand from the river. The illegal dredgers are being removed.
He further said, "No dirt road has been constructed on the river; this is a sand bed. I am not taking any money for this."
Admitting that sand extraction takes place at night too, he said, "The district administration has permitted sand extraction round the clock for 365 days."
IMPACT ON LOCAL LIFE
Nayan Mia, 56, a boatman from Babuipara village in Durgapur, said, "I used to happily ply my boat here 10 years ago, but now I only hear the ceaseless noise of sand dredgers.
"There are countless dredgers scattered across the river, mining sand 24 hours a day," he added.
An elderly resident of Bijoypur village said no one challenges Ruhi's activities out of fear.
"If anyone tries to speak against his sand trade, his men threaten them," he alleged.
Besides, trucks carrying wet sand from the extraction sites have badly damaged the Shyamganj-Birishiri road, he added.
Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (Bela), said, "The unchecked sand mining from the Someshwari river is destroying vital national assets.
"The river has been turned into sand mines, robbing the people of their rightful access. It has just become the private property of the leaseholder," she added.
Rizwana called for an immediate cancellation of all sand mining leases.
"The current method of sand extraction poses an existential threat to rivers and the surrounding communities.
"Just a decade ago, many of our rivers were healthy. But now, thousands of dredgers mine sand ruthlessly, eroding the river banks," she said.
"We have to act before our rivers disappear forever."
WHAT DO THE AUTHORITIES SAY?
Abu Said, assistant director at the Department of Environment in Netrakona, said he was unaware of the current status of the Someshwari river but promised to look into the matter.
"Illegal dredgers have a number of negative consequences, including the loss of arable land, erosion, and the change in river course," he told this newspaper.
Meanwhile, the district administration on October 4 requested Ruhi's company Ruhi Enterprise to immediately stop the illegal activities.
The authorities sent four letters, asking Ruhi to halt transportation of wet sand and stop operating unauthorised dredgers.
Contacted, Shahed Parvez, deputy commissioner of Netrakona, said, "Mobile courts are being conducted, and a fine of around Tk 19 lakh has been slapped in the last 6 months.
"We will talk to the leaseholders. If they still do not follow the rules, we will take action," he added.
He, however, did not comment when asked about Ruhi's claim that the administration had approved dredging round the clock for a year. source : daily star
