Obinash Roy, Panchagadh (Debiganj)

In Debiganj, Panchagarh, the bridge and connecting road are under threat due to illegal sand extraction from the Rangapani River without paying attention to the rules and regulations.

On Thursday (February 20), it was seen on the spot that sand is being extracted from under the bridge built on the Rangapani River in the Khoyer Bagan area of Debiganj Sadar Union. Although there is no rule to extract sand within one kilometer on either side of any bridge as per the rules, sand is being extracted illegally within 100 meters on both sides starting from the very bottom of the bridge. First, the extracted sand is piled up in the Khoyer Bagan, and later it is taken elsewhere in Mahendra Toli at convenient times.

Meanwhile, the continuous illegal extraction of sand from the Rangapani River has caused erosion on both banks of the river. Already, several bighas of land in Khoyer Bagan have disappeared into the river. Especially due to the extraction of sand from under the bridge, the guide wall on the eastern side of the bridge has started collapsing. Local residents fear that the connection road may also collapse at any time.

Khorshed Alam, a landowner affected by the river erosion, told the reporter, "For a long time, a handful of three or four people have been extracting sand from the river using Mahendra Toli. As a result, several bighas of our land have gone into the river due to river erosion. We have prohibited them from extracting sand several times, but they continue to extract sand regularly."

Golam Morshed, a local youth, said that the connection road of this bridge collapsed due to heavy rains in 2020. At that time, nearly a million people of three unions faced transportation problems. Meanwhile, the way sand is being extracted from under the bridge without paying attention to the rules and regulations for the last two to three years, there is a fear that the bridge and connection road will collapse in the coming monsoon.

Meanwhile, a group has been extracting sand from the river day and night, avoiding the attention of the administration for a long time without any kind of lease. However, despite being so close to the upazila headquarters, no action has been taken by the administration.

Debiganj UNO Md. Mahmudul Hasan said in this regard, if the point is not leased, then sand mining is illegal. This matter will be investigated and if there is no lease for the point, then they will be banned.