BCL grabs sand quarry at Parshuram in Feni
Local leaders and workers of Chhatra League allegedly drove out the men of legal lessee and occupied a sand quarry in Muhuri River at Barukhuna village under Parshuram upazila of Feni district yesterday.
Taking lease of the sand quarry from the Ministry of Mineral Resources, contracting firm Nabarun Builders was lifting sand using 10 dredger machines for the last several months, police and locals said.
"Although I took lease from the ministry I had to give half of the profit to Parshuram upazila Chairman Kamal Uddin Majumder and Fulgazi upazila Chairman Ekramul Haque," said Apu Chowdhury, owner of Nabarun Builders.
Majumder and Ekram also frequently demanded extra money in the name of different functions and there were several events of altercations over it, he said.
As Apu Chowdhury stopped paying them any money from the profit for sometime, the two upazila chairmen got furious.
Fulgazi upazila Chairman Ekramul Haque accompanied by local Chhatra League leaders and workers came to the sand quarry at around 5:00am yesterday. They beat the lessee's clerks Imtiaz, 27, and Zafar Ahmed, 32, and snatched account books from the employees.
At one stage, the sand quarry workers and local people chased the Chhatra League activists, held four of them and ransacked a motorcycle.
On information, Parshuram police went to the spot and took the four people and the motorcycle to the police station.
At around 10:00am, about 60 to 70 Chhatra League leaders and workers went to the sand quarry, drove away employees of the lessee and took control of the quarry. They started lifting and selling sand from there.
They sold about 50 truckloads of sand at Tk 1,600 per truck yesterday, witnesses said.
Parshuram upazila Chhatra League general secretary Shafiqul Islam alias Mahim admitted the incident and said, "As workers of Chhatra League, we took possession of the sand quarry following orders from the local Awami League leaders."
When contacted, Parshuram upazila Chairman Kamal Uddin Majumder, also general secretary of upazila Awami League, said, "We exercise a little influence as leaders of the ruling party." He, however, declined to explain the nature of influence.
"After people held four people police took them to the police station but they were released in the afternoon," Parshuram Police Station sub-inspector Rafiqul Islam said.
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