Deliberate destruction of the environment

We are sorry to see two reports and adjoining photographs published in this paper this Monday that speak volumes of the way our natural environment has been assaulted. And that too with impunity. The rampant extraction of river stone has made water scarce in Bandarban in the dry season and contributed to the siltation problem in the Sangu River. Another photo-story depicts the sorry state of once-mighty Chaktai canal in Chittagong, which is now reduced to a narrow stream of water during the low tide. 

We are perplexed as to why the authorities are allowing assaults on our environment to go on unabated. Be it stone extraction, illegal encroachment of water bodies or cutting hills, we see a disturbing trend that keeps repeating itself, which is that of the involvement of criminals who work in connivance with unscrupulous local officials. This is reportedly the case of the Bandarban stone extraction.

In some cases, environment officials are so ill-equipped and lack manpower to such an extent that it is impossible for them to bring the culprits to book. The drives that they do launch do not deter the local syndicates from returning to the illegal activity. The government needs to be determined to implement its own laws and arm the authorities with the necessary logistics in order to stop the criminals who are causing irreparable damage to the environment. This must be backed up by political will, which can stop the impunity with which our environment is being ravaged.