Illegal sand traders causing havoc in Bhuapur

Unregistered 10-wheeled tipper trucks engaged by illegal sand traders have been causing havoc in Bhuapur upazila for a long time due to indifference of the authorities concerned. 

Injuries and fatalities caused by reckless driving of drivers -- majority of whom are unlicensed -- of the heavy 10-wheelers are becoming a common phenomenon as they zigzag through narrow village roads of the upazila at high speeds.

The trucks, usually loaded above their full capacity, are also causing permanent damage to rural roads that were not constructed to withstand such loads on a regular basis.

Locals said the fleet of trucks are maintained and operated by sand traders who illegally extract sand from the Jamuna river at different points -- east side of the Bangabandhu Bridge, Jigatala, Govindasi and Sirajkandi in Bhuapur upazila and Jokarchar and Pungli in Kalihati upazila.

A few months ago, a woman died on the spot after she was run over by an unregistered 10-wheeler sand truck on Bhuapur-Tarakandi road in Bazar area. 

In another incident three weeks back, several people were injured, two severely, in Khupibari area on the east road between Bhuapur and the Bangabandhu Bridge as two tipper trucks loaded with sand collided head on with each other. 

Char Bhaduri resident Abdul Bari and one of the truckers, Toni Miah, was maimed for life, leaving their dependents in despair, according to the locals.  

Just several weeks back, a pedestrian named Jahangir Hossain had his ribcage fractured when a reckless 10-wheeler sand truck rammed him on Tangail-Bhuapur road in Shialkhol Bazar area, they also said.

Asked whether the Truck Workers' Union in Bhuapur upazila has any responsibility in the movement of such unregistered trucks in the upazila, its General Secretary Mainul Islam Talukder said the responsibility lies with the law enforcement authorities concerned.

Most of the unregistered trucks plying the roads in the upazila are being operated from outside Bhuapur, he claimed. "Some 25 trucks are registered with the truck workers' union in Bhuapur while the rest don't have any affiliation with the union."

Contacted, Ali Akbar Khan, an official at the Local Government and Engineering Department in Bhuapur, said the 10-wheelers should be made off-limits to roads in the upazila as the overloaded vehicles have been damaging rural roads intended for lighter vehicles. 

A number of local union parishad chairmen have already raised their objections as the overloaded trucks have been causing damage to the rural roads, he said, adding, "The higher authorities were already informed of the matter." 

As to why police are not taking action against unregistered vehicles in the upazila, Rashidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Bhuapur Police Station, said the traffic department of police is responsible for taking action against any such unregistered trucks.

He however said the police would take action against the illegal vehicles with directives from the higher authorities. 

Confirming that it is unlawful for any unregistered heavy vehicle to ply rural roads, regional roads or the highways in the district, Rafiqul Islam Sarkar, traffic inspector (administration) in Tangail, said the traffic department monitors vehicle movement on the highway between the capital and the Bangabandhu Bridge in Elenga area. 

"There's no deployment of traffic police [personnel] in Bhuapur upazila. However, we will launch drives against the unregistered heavy trucks [in Bhuapur] as soon as possible," he added.