Illegal stone extraction in Sylhet

Uncontrolled stone quarrying in certain areas of Sylhet District has had the most deleterious consequences on the environment as well as tourism in those areas, apart from costing, reportedly, the lives of nearly 60 labourers in the last four years. In the last year alone, 20 labourers working in these quarries have been killed in landslides, and two more unfortunates have been added to the list on Thursday. In the name of stone extraction, wherever that is legally allowed, sand is also being extracted damaging the environment even further. It is a pity that efforts to stop illegal extraction of stones in these areas have not been effective. There is also a question mark regarding the efficacy of the taskforce that was created several years ago to stop this practice following reports of indiscriminate extraction by illegal methods and deaths of labourers in these jobs.

We wonder how many of the 393 illegal crushing machines, set up in Sylhet sadar, Companiganj, Goainghat, Jaintapur and Kanaighat upazilas, have been removed by the administration so far in conformity with the High Court order of January 2017. And it has only till the end of April this year to fulfill the Court's orders.

Reportedly, there is a strong syndicate that is involved in stone quarrying and in which the police, journalists and powerful persons are involved. Why the reluctance on the part of the administration to disclose the findings of the Companiganj quarry disaster, if not to suppress unpalatable truth from coming out? The syndicate must be destroyed and the quarry workers' safety and security must be ensured by the authorised quarry owners.