S A Shofiee, Sylhet:
The water stream coming from India has crossed the border into Bangladesh. The green spectacle of nature on both sides seems to have touched the sky.
A lot of boulders are floating in the stream of water and clear water coming down from the high mountains, the stream of that water has descended to the white stone area of ​​Bholaganj Noman’s Land or Zero Point. This entire area has created a charming natural environment. Tourists are spending time treading on the stones and enjoying the clear water coming down.
The water stream has split into two directions from Noman’s Land or Zero Point. There has been unprecedented looting on one side of it. The area is still a desert. Stones are being thrown to install in that looted place.
There are stones at the other end of the water stream. However, tourists claim that several stones have been stolen from there too. However, the administration has thrown some more stones in the place where there is a stone arrangement. Tourists have started coming to that place. Local businessmen say that the number of tourists coming is much less than what they used to do before. Tourists are now coming to see the white stone.
Local LC businessman Noman Ahmed said that the white stone may not return to the way it was naturally placed, but the initiative taken by the administration will bring back the beauty of the white stone. The administration is trying hard.
He said that at first, tourists turned away a little. There were some obstacles. However, on the other side, there is the main spot, there is the stone. Tourists continue to come there. That has happened thanks to the media.
Local journalist Sabibar Ahmed said that many tourists are now coming to the white stone. I hope that the white stone will regain its full form. May everyone be inspired by love for the country and be respectful. Let’s try from each position to keep the form of this daughter of nature intact.
Tourists visiting the white stone, Zahid Hossain, a resident of Gazipur, Dhaka, said that the number of tourists who used to visit the white stone is not the same now. I don’t think anyone will come a second time now! Even then, there is a beautiful environment to roam around, it has not become so bad. Travel enthusiasts are wandering around the stones and water bodies.
Hridoy Hasan, who came from Khilkhet in Dhaka, said, two parts of the stones that were there before have disappeared. When I came earlier, I saw stones and stones, now it is just a desert. Even then, efforts to preserve this place need to be continued.
Abdul Bari, a member of the Bholaganj White Stone Photographic Society, said that not even one percent of the stones that have been looted from the white stone have been returned. And the stones that have been laid artificially will not return to their natural original appearance. However, the beauty is returning more than before due to the administration’s removal of stones.
It is known locally that a large part of the looted white stone has gone outside Sylhet. Many people have looted the stones. And many people bought and stored these looted stones for business. Some people directly stored the looted stones, which were recovered by the administration in a raid.
Since August 5, 2024, stones worth crores of rupees have been looted from the surrounding areas of Sadapathar. And in the last two weeks of July and August, unprecedented looting took place in the Sadapathar area. The Sadapathar pile area in area number 10 of Noman’s Land, Bholaganj is attractive to tourists. That is why it is called the Sadapathar tourist spot. Since there are many tourists every day, this tourist area has become one of the means of livelihood for boat workers, businessmen and local people. But after the change of the name on August 5, 2024, the stone looting festival is going on in Bholaganj, ignoring the ban of the High Court.
Stone looters carried out the looting in collusion with the district and local administration. Only in the face of criticism, the DC was transferred to OSD, and the UN was transferred. Although the recently outgoing Deputy Commissioner has taken the initiative to restore the Sadapathar to its previous form.
After the arrival of the new Deputy Commissioner, the stone rescue operation has been accelerated. The concerned parties hope that the proper conservation and restoration of the seized stones will have a positive impact on environmental protection.
It is worth noting that after the administration’s ultimatum, the rush to return the looted white stones has begun. Many people are voluntarily returning the seized stones by truck from different areas of Bholaganj, Salutikar and Companiganj in Sylhet Sadar Upazila.
Until Tuesday (August 26) morning, about 3 lakh cubic feet of stones have been returned in at least 200 more trucks. As a result, about 1.3 lakh cubic feet of stones have been piled up for replacement in the administration’s dumping area.
