Hillocks will be gobbled up also after stones thru all-party unity

With the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August last year, the looting of stones began and continued relentlessly in mass scale over the past year. Although stories of this looting spread on social and other media, the government and local administration remained in a deep slumber like Kumbhakarna. They only woke up after the looting was over. On 13 August, the joint forces launched an operation to recover the looted white stones and seized 130 stone-laden trucks. According to the Sylhet district commissioner, the confiscated stones will be returned to the areas from where they were looted, and there is also a court order regarding this. Stone is a mineral resource, and therefore its authority lies with the Ministry of Mineral Resources. The power to permit or stop extraction lies with that ministry. However, if stone extraction causes environmental damage, the Ministry of Environment can raise objections.

Where sand and stones are extracted under government lease or with government approval is called a "quarry". The demand for stones in Bangladesh cannot be met from its various quarries. Almost the entire demand is met by importing stones from abroad. In the fiscal year 2024-25, 9.5 million metric tonnes of stone were imported. Only a small portion of the demand is met from the Maddhapara Hard Rock Project in Dinajpur and from various quarries in Sylhet. During the Pakistan era, stones extracted from Bholaganj in Sylhet were supplied to the cement factory in Chhatak. For this supply, in 1969, an 11-mile-long ropeway was constructed from Bholaganj to Chhatak, but due to lack of maintenance, it stopped functioning many years ago.

Until 2020, all eight quarries in Sylhet were leased out, and lessees extracted stones from them. But as risks of environmental and ecological damage were identified, from 2020 no quarry in Sylhet was leased out. The role of the current environmental adviser was important in keeping stone extraction suspended during the Awami League period. Perhaps for the same reason, the interim government also decided in April to keep the leasing of eight quarries in Sylhet and 17 quarries across the country suspended.

The Bholaganj stone quarry in Sylhet is located beside a white stone area. Workers extract stones from the river beside the hills. Stones also come across the border from India, carried by the water of the Dhalai River that flows down from the Khasi-Jaintia hills during the monsoon each year. The riverbed of the Dhalai also holds plenty of stones. Since the Awami League era, Sylhet businessmen and political leaders have been advocating for re-leasing of various quarries and extraction of stones, but neither the Awami League government nor the interim government granted permission, citing environmental risks as the main reason.

Businessmen can certainly demand stone extraction from quarry for their own business interests, but why are local political leaders so keen on it? Why are BNP, Jamaat, NCP and other parties united in supporting stone extraction? Surely, they too have arguments. They argue that stone extraction provides employment for workers – a simple and innocent justification. But the people know well that political leaders are themselves businessmen, and businessmen who are not political leaders are forced to pay them hefty extortion money.

Political leaders are clever, just like Maulana Bhasani was. During the mass movement of 1969, his slogan "Burn, burn, set fire!" led to the burning and destruction of houses, cars and many assets across the country. When blamed for this, he clarified, "I had asked to light fire inside the mind, not to the houses." The political leaders of Sylhet are now saying similar things about stone looting: "We asked for stone extraction, not for looting." Then why did they not resist when stones were being looted all at once from Sylhet's protected areas, tourist spots and quarries? The answer is – it was the duty of the local administration to prevent looting.

The local administration could not prevent it. The main reason was that after 5 August, the administration was reshaped with people from BNP and Jamaat. Thus, the administrative officials do not have the power to take any decisions outside the will of the local political leaders.

Secondly, the administration across the country is paralysed with the fear of mob violence. If they do not listen to political leaders and workers, they will be labelled as Awami League supporters, humiliated, and face fierce campaigns for their dismissal. Even if they are not dismissed, the DCs and SPs will be forced back to the Secretariat, which they do not want.

Thirdly, the local administration itself supported stone extraction. In a meeting held in July, Sylhet Divisional Commissioner Khan Md Reza-un-Nabi expressed his opinion in favour of stone extraction.

Fourthly, the extreme deterioration of law and order in the country has fuelled stone looting. After the fall of the Awami League government, local leaders of BNP and its affiliated organisations took control of all quarries in Sylhet.

There are allegations that the open looting of stones began with their support. On 24 June, a human chain was formed in front of the Central Shaheed Minar in Sylhet under the banner of the Stone Traders Owners-Workers Unity Council in favour of stone extraction, which was attended by six top leaders of BNP, Jamaat and the National Citizen Party. At different times, leaders of Islami Andolan, AB Party and others have also spoken in favour of reopening the quarries.

The uproar would not have been so great if only stones from quarries had been looted. The problem is that the five acres of white stone beside Bholaganj quarry have also been looted. A grand tourist centre had developed there for seeing the white stones, for sitting on the large white rocks and taking photos and videos. With the improvement of the road to Bholaganj from 2012, the number of tourists increased. Around the white stone area, countless shops grew up, selling various goods and food to four to five thousand tourists daily. After the looting of white stones, the absence of tourists brought an end to the incomes of tourism-based businesses and workers.

The looting of white stones has not only destroyed a tourist centre but also devastated the natural environment. At the Bholaganj Zero Point of the Dhalai river, the stock of stones had been holding back the powerful force of water flowing down from the hills. Without stones, the river current will not be controlled, banks will collapse paving way to flash floods. Moreover, stones had kept the river water clear, and many people used to drink from it. After the looting, the water has turned muddy.

Looting and extortion are happening all over the country. Despite protests on social media, the interim government pays no attention. Because a notion has been created that except for the Awami League, leaders and workers of other political parties are starved after 17 years, unbearably hungry, and that to satisfy their hunger, looting and extortion must be tolerated. What an easy solution, what a gentle law! The Amir of Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Pir of Char Monai, Syed Muhammad Rezaul Karim, even claimed that India is conspiring behind the prohibition on lifting white stones. Only after the stones were looted did the local administration wake up.

Luckily, they did not wake up during the looting; if they had, it would have been dangerous – they would have been tagged as Awami League men, branded as agents of India’s RAW. These two labels – Awami League tag and India’s conspiracy – are enough nowadays to silence even saints and monks. Extortion, tender manipulation, occupying stations and ferry ghats, sand looting, stone theft, even killing people with stones – all continue under the cover of these tags. Anti-India sentiment and the tactic of tagging opponents is nothing new in political history. Even during the Awami League rule, opponents were branded with the "Razakar" tag. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan once called Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the proposer of Pakistan, "India’s unleashed dog". Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Huq too was accused of selling the country to India.

The white stone tourist centre of Bholaganj in Sylhet, battered by looting, will hopefully one day be filled with tourists again – this is the expectation of the people of the country. "I managed to keep stone extraction stopped at Jaflong for the last four years, but now, even as adviser, I could not" – these are the words of the Forest and Climate Change Adviser, Syeda Rizwana Hasan. She has witnessed all-party unity in Sylhet over stone extraction. But this unity is their own creation. The people of the country also saw the merciless smile of satisfaction on the Chief Adviser’s face even on the day of the destruction of milestones. The dream of building ‘one family’ by the Chief Adviser is so difficult to achieve – not only the Environment Adviser but the whole advisory council must understand this.

The interim government’s dependence on political parties is undermining its neutrality, its strategy of seeing dreams through the eyes of others is backfiring, and the fulfilment of those dreams is becoming more difficult. By pandering to political parties, disorder and extortion will not be eliminated. The helplessness of the interim government, like that of the Environment Adviser, in controlling crimes including stone looting, will only increase with time. Finally, it must be said – as soon as the white stones have been consumed, the Shah Arefin hill is now nearing its end too. What will these stone and hill eaters consume next in this country?

Zeauddin Ahmed: Former Executive Director, Bangladesh Bank, and former Managing Director, Bangladesh Security Printing Press