Alam Sarowar Tito, Kishoreganj :
The greedy trend of illegal sand mining has continued in the country in a rampant way, inviting grave danger for both people, and nature.
Illegal sand dredging in the Meghna River in threatening the Ashuganj Thermal Power Station and a critical national gride power tower in the Bhairab -Ashuganj area.
An influential syndicate has been illegally extracting sand 24;hours a day from the area near the powerplant, for a long time, disregarding the rules and regulations.
Every day, several lakh cubic feet of sand is being extracted through 10-12 dredgers and sold in different parts of the country for huge profits.
Sand mining has threatened one of the country’s largest power generation plants, the Ashuganj Thermal Power Plant, the electrical towers on the Bhairab-Ashuganj line of the national grid transmission line, and the village of Char Sonarampur.
Locals fear that if sand mining continues like this, the power plant and two towers of the national grid line could disappear into the river at any time.
This will cut off power supply from Ashuganj to North Bengal, disrupting industrial production, and the country will face serious economic losses.
On the other hand, three roads and railway bridges built over the Meghna River and hundreds of families in Char Sonarampur village are in danger of losing their homes and becoming destitute.
There is also a risk that three bridges will be damaged. Assistant Engineer of Ashuganj Power Development Abu Zafar , said that due to sand extraction from the river near the national grid line (tower) and thermal power plant, there is a risk of the grid line’s electrical tower and power plant disappearing into the riverbed due to river erosion. Ashuganj Bazar and Power Grid Company.
Power Development Board (PDB) have submitted a written complaint to the administration to stop sand extraction.
But no action is being taken by the administration. Bhairab Power Distribution Center , Md. Iqbal Hossain said, “We get electricity from Ashuganj Power Plant.
If the plant is damaged, power supply will be disrupted in various areas of the country including Kishoreganj district.
In this regard, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO)of Ashuganj, Rafe Mohammad Chara said, “No one has complained about the extraction of sand from the national grid line in the Meghna River. Legal action will be taken if a complaint is received.”
