S A Shofiee, Sylhet :
All stone quarries in Sylhet have been closed for 7 years. Bholaganj, Jaflong, Bichnakandi, Sreepur, Lovachhra and other stone quarries have been shut down, causing an extreme crisis in the local economic situation. As the traditional stone extraction process has been stopped for a long time, thousands of businessmen involved in this sector and lakhs of laborers working in these quarries of 3 upazilas have been living unemployed lives.
Hundreds of stone crushers lying in Bholaganj, Jaflong, Bichnakandi, Sreepur, Lobhachara, depending on the stones of the quarry, have rusted. In some places, the equipment of these factories, which have been invested in millions of rupees, have to be sold again at the price of water. Due to stone crushing plants being stopped due to stone quarrying not being normal, the furniture, equipment and materials of stone crusher mill used for breaking these stones are being destroyed.
As the stone transportation is stopped, countless trucks and tractors purchased for stone transportation against the loan money of the businessmen have been lying down on the road side, in front of the factories for years. The administration closed all the stone quarries in Sylhet on the orders of the High Court. As a result, the administration, police department came to the field strictly to stop all kinds of stone sand extraction including the traditional method.
Meanwhile, huge piles of stones accumulate every year to prevent the removal of source stones from stone quarries. These piles of stones coming down from upstream are increasing day by day. Due to this, every year during the monsoon season, there is a serious obstruction in the normal flow of water in the river. At the Jaflong zero point, the mouth of the Piane River has been filled up to a height of 30 to 40 feet by piles of rocks brought down from the upstream by the last flash floods. This has reduced the navigability (depth) of these local rivers.
As a result of the loss of navigability, all the rivers including Jaflong, Bholaganj in the Piyan basin have seriously eroded. Due to the formation of rockslides at the source of the river during the monsoon season, the flood water caused by the hill slopes coming down from the upstream, caused a strong current and the water bodies began to break down extensively. As a result of the erosion of the river for several years, crop lands, betel nut orchards (jum), houses, schools, madrasas and other structures are disappearing under the river.
There are also innumerable mosques, madrassas, schools, haat bazaars, tea gardens and vast waste lands under threat. Like other stone quarries, Goainghat stone quarries in Sylhet have also been closed since the same time. In such a situation, the workers and traders are being hunted by the operation of mobile court of the administration and the capture of the police, sometimes hiding or dodging the eyes of the administration and the police.
Anwar Hossain Khan Anu, President of Jaflong Ballaghat Stone Traders Cooperative Association, said that the extraction of stone from all the stone quarries of Sylhet including Jaflong has been stopped in the traditional way for 7 years. Due to the closure of the quarries, our traders involved in the stone trade have been living an inhumane life. He also said that since quarry stone extraction has been stopped for a long time, the amount of stone in all the quarries has increased many times, besides every year, stones come down from the upstream even though the hill falls. As a result, there is an obstruction in the way of the water flowing down to the stone pile at the source. If these stones are not removed quickly, the river erosion in the area will become evident. The situation of our businessmen investing in this sector is very fragile due to the shutdown of activities in the quarries. Many have been living with non-human beings with their families.
Bablu Bakht, President of Jaflong Stone Crusher Mill Owners Association, said that the stone crusher mill has been closed for a long time due to the shutdown of stone quarry operations. Hundreds of stone crusher mills are closed and these establishments are rusting. Stone crusher mill plant closed due to quarry closure.