Sylhet BNP leaders behind looting stones in broad daylight

Once, as far as the eye could see, there were only stones. Now, the landscape is marked by countless pits and shallow ditches. Years of unchecked looting have depleted the rivers and quarries of Sylhet’s once-thriving “stone empire”.

In the last 10 months especially, stones have been plundered in broad daylight—allegedly under the patronage of the leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its affiliated organisations.

Shah Shaheda Akhtar, Sylhet divisional coordinator of the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), told Prothom Alo that the local administration’s indifference has made it impossible to stop the illegal stone extraction.

“Thousands of people are indiscriminately looting stones from rivers and quarries. Yet the administration is taking no action,” she said.

On Saturday morning, when environment, forest and climate change adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and power, energy and mineral resources adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan visited Jaflong—an environmentally critical area (ECA)—they were met with protests.

A group of sand and stone traders and workers, led by local leaders of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Jubo Dal, and Sramik Dal, blocked their convoy and chanted slogans demanding the reopening of the closed stone quarries in Jaflong and Sylhet.

According to sources in the district administration, following instructions from the two advisers, electricity supply to 30 machines in Dhopagul of Sylhet Sadar Upazila and five more in Jaintiapur was disconnected on Monday. The following day, power was also cut off from 33 crusher machines in Dhopagul.

Locals said that the government had ordered a halt to stone and sand extraction from quarries in February 2020. Despite the ban, illegal extraction continued—initially at night and allegedly with the backing of certain local leaders of Awami League, which was in power at that time.

But after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on 5 August last year, control of the quarries reportedly shifted to the BNP and its allied groups. With their patronage, thousands of stone workers resumed extraction operations in the open.

Environmental activists and local residents allege that while there are eight designated stone quarries in Sylhet district, illegal extraction is also taking place at no fewer than 10 other locations.

They claim that the scale of looting in the past 10 months far exceeds what occurred over the previous 15 years.

Despite this, the administration does not have any data on the amount of stone looted during this period. Locals estimate that stones worth at least Tk 20 billion have been illegally extracted from areas outside Sylhet’s official quarries and quarry zones. If this continues unchecked, they warn, Sylhet may soon be completely depleted of its natural stone resources.

Abdul Karim Chowdhury Kim, general secretary of the Sylhet chapter of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan (BAPA), told Prothom Alo that the volume of stone looted over the past 10 months is several times greater than what was extracted illegally in the past one and a half decades.

“We have never seen looting on this scale before,” he said. “Yet the administration has failed to stop it. The quarry leases remain suspended, but the looting goes on. What purpose does that serve? For the sake of nature and the environment, this looting must be stopped at all costs.”

Local residents say that the Sada Pathor (white stone) area in Bholaganj, Companiganj, is one of Sylhet’s most iconic tourist destinations—renowned both nationally and internationally for its natural beauty. However, after large-scale stone looting in the Bholaganj Stone Quarry, Shah Arefin Tila, and Bangkar areas of the upazila, illegal extraction has now extended to the Sada Pathor area as well. Since 23 April, stones have been plundered from the site, leaving the area nearly barren. Large portions were looted again just last Saturday night.

Located along the zero line of the Bangladesh-India border, the Sada Pathor tourist zone spans approximately 15 acres.

A visit to the site revealed a grim scene: the once-vibrant tourist destination has been left desolate due to stone looting from the main section of the Dhalai River’s source.

Although the water still flows rapidly in the absence of stone barriers, the signature charm of the area—its iconic blend of water and scattered white stones—has all but vanished. Disheartened by the drastic change, many tourists have expressed their disappointment.

Information has emerged that more than 50 leaders and activists of the BNP and its affiliated organisations in Gowainghat, Jaintiapur, and Companiganj are involved in the illegal extraction of sand and stones.

Among them, district BNP ioint general secretary Rafiqul Islam, also known as Shahparan, was suspended from the party on 14 October for his alleged role in the looting of sand and stones in Jaflong. On 9 June, Abul Kashem, joint organising secretary of district Jubo Dal, was expelled for similar reasons.

The most recent protest, held on Saturday afternoon in Jaflong to demand the reopening of a closed stone quarry, was led by local leaders of BNP and its affiliated organisations—Jubo Dal, Chhatra Dal, and Sramik Dal.

Among the protest leaders were Purba Jaflong Union Chhatra Dal president Azir Uddin, senior vice-president Sumon Sikder, Gowainghat Upazila Jubo Dal joint convener Zahid Khan, district Chhatra Dal joint general secretary Sohel Ahmed, Upazila Sramik Dal president Abdul Jalil, joint general secretary Abdus Salam, and religious affairs secretary Ramzan Molla.

Following the incident, Jubo Dal expelled Zahid Khan on Sunday for his involvement in the protest.

 According to the Sylhet office of the Department of Environment, nine cases have been filed in connection with stone looting in Jaflong and Gowainghat since 5 August last year.

A total of 226 individuals have been accused in these cases. Among them, District Jubo Dal joint organising secretary Abul Kashem was arrested by the army on 27 April. However, he was released on bail before Eid.

In addition, on 23 January, a separate case was filed against 40 individuals for cutting and extracting stones from Shah Arefin Tila in Companiganj Upazila. No arrests have been made in connection with that case.

Of the nine cases related to the Jaflong stone extraction, six are currently pending trial and three remain under investigation, according to the Department of Environment.

Local residents reported that before 5 August 2024, stone mining was carried out covertly. However, after that date, thousands of people began extracting stones illegally in broad daylight.

For two consecutive months, there was no monitoring by the local administration in the stone quarries of Sylhet, during which widespread looting took place.

When the administration eventually conducted raids, the stone miners temporarily retreated. But once the raiding teams left, illegal extraction resumed almost immediately.

Sylhet deputy commissioner Mohammad Sher Mahbub Murad claimed that illegal stone mining has now decreased significantly due to various initiatives taken by the administration, including regular raids.

He stated that illegally extracted stones were being taken to crushing machines, and in response, the administration is disconnecting power supply to those machines to halt operations.

However, three residents of the Bholaganj and Jaflong areas said the impact of the raids is temporary. As soon as the operations end, the looting resumes.

They added that because thousands of people are involved in the extraction, the local administration often hesitates to carry out enforcement drives due to limited manpower.