Munshiganj (South) Correspondent

In Louhajang, Munshiganj, four individuals have been jailed and fined for illegally extracting sand from the Padma River using dredgers.

Louhajang Upazila Mobile Court, led by Executive Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Abdullah Al Imran, sentenced one individual to a maximum of three months in jail and fined them Tk 2 lakh.

The remaining three individuals were each sentenced to 45 days in jail and fined Tk 50,000, bringing the total fine to Tk 3.5 lakh. Executive Magistrate Abdullah Al Imran stated that certain illegal sand traders had been extracting sand from the Padma River in Louhajang in violation of government regulations.

Acting on this information, a mobile court operation was conducted at 2:00 AM on Thursday in collaboration with the Coast Guard and police. During the operation, four individuals were apprehended for illegally extracting sand from the river. The magistrate affirmed that such operations would continue in the public interest.

According to multiple sources, after the fall of the previous Awami League government, sand extraction in the Padma River was halted for some time.

However, illegal sand mining has resumed under the cover of darkness, with over fifty dredgers operating in the river. Sand thieves are violating government regulations by extracting sand from at least ten locations along the Padma River at night.

Local residents have expressed concerns that this sand extraction is contributing to river erosion despite a Tk 500 crore embankment project aimed at protecting the left bank of the Padma River downstream of the Padma Bridge. Previously emerged sandbars have already disappeared due to erosion. Several areas, including Bara Nowpara, Bezgaon, Bagher Bari, and the boundary wall of Brahmangaon High School, have already been eroded. The unplanned and reckless extraction of sand by these illegal miners is causing severe erosion each year, displacing numerous families from their homes.

Louhajang UNO Md. Nesar Uddin has stated that no one will be spared if they are found illegally extracting sand from the Padma River. He emphasized that all necessary actions will be taken in the interest of the country and its people. Louhajang has already suffered due to the Padma River’s relentless erosion, and authorities will not allow illegal sand mining to further shrink the region’s land area.

The local residents have expressed satisfaction with the mobile court’s operation and praised UNO Md. Nesar Uddin, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Abdullah Al Imran, and the upazila administration for taking action against the sand lifters.