SONATALA, Bangladesh — Unchecked sand extraction from the Bangali River using shallow-pump machines is threatening the Ariyarghat bridge in Bogura’s Sonatala upazila, which was built at a cost of 500 million taka.
Riverbank residents fear their homes will be at risk during the monsoon season, and erosion could intensify along the fast-flowing Bangali River.
Local residents said a group of sand traders had long been extracting sand illegally, evading the attention of the administration.
Residents said the traders have been using shallow-pump machines to dig sand at more than 50 sites along the river, from Ariyarghat to Porapaikar (Choluraghat), in the upazila. In 2020, the Water Development Board carried out right-bank protection work at a cost of about 1.5 billion taka in the Namajkhali, Ranirpara, Rangrarpara, Nishchintapur, Halidabga and Porapaikar areas.
That protection project is now under threat. Unchecked sand extraction has put homes, farmland and trees at risk and is also disturbing the environmental balance, residents said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report