Two sentenced to jail for illegal sand extraction from Jadukata River

A mobile court on Thursday sentenced two workers to 60 days of imprisonment each for illegally extracting sand by cutting the banks of the Jadukata River in Tahirpur upazila of Sunamganj. The mobile court, led by Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate BMSR Alif, conducted the drive on the river’s eastern bank in Badaghat union in the afternoon.
According to the upazila administration, two workers, Md Bashir, 37, and Md Mosadder, 42, were arrested while extracting sand near Lauregarh. They were sentenced under the Sand and Soil Management Act, 2010. Members of Tahirpur Police Station and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) assisted in the operation. After the drive, Executive Magistrate BMSR Alif said the administration's campaign to protect the riverbanks would continue, warning that strict action would be taken against anyone involved in illegal sand extraction and cutting the riverbanks.
Meanwhile, several locals, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that influential individuals involved in illegal sand extraction often evade action by staying away from the sites, while workers are arrested and punished. They demanded that those financing or instigating the illegal activities, as well as those selling land along the riverbanks, be brought to justice.
The district administration suspended sand extraction from the river's sand mahals on 14 September after the leases expired that day. Later on, 19 October, Tahirpur upazila administration granted permission to operate the Jadukata-1 and Jadukata-2 sand mahals in accordance with a High Court order. The authorities also demarcated the boundaries of the two sand mahals.