ALIKADAM — The army zone and civil administration in Alikadam upazila have fined illegal hill-cutters a total of 500,000 taka in a midnight raid aimed at preventing landslides and protecting the environment, officials said.
The operation was carried out from midnight to 3 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, in the Pahartoli Para area, about 3 kilometers from the Alikadam army zone headquarters, and was led by Capt. Md. Hirbal Umma Hamim. Mobile court proceedings were conducted under the leadership of Md. Momenjur Alam, the upazila nirbahi officer.
Two people were fined a total of 100,000 taka, with a default sentence of six months without hard labor, under Section 4(e) of the 2010 Sand Quarry and Soil Management Act for illegally cutting hills and extracting soil with an excavator. An additional 100,000 taka was imposed on each of three small trucks and one excavator used in the hill-cutting, for a total of 400,000 taka in vehicle penalties.
The accused and the seized vehicles were handed over to Alikadam police, officials said. The vehicles will be confiscated if the fines are not paid within the set time, sources said.
The Alikadam zone commander said such operations will continue as part of efforts to protect the hills and the environment. Local residents and various groups have welcomed the army and administration’s initiative.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report