Bangabandhu Bridge
Illegal sand lifting threatens approach road
Unauthorised sand extraction from Jamuna River near Bangabandhu Bridge at Palisha in Bhuapur upazila of Tangail district causes harm to the approach road of the bridge as hundreds of trucks used for carrying the sand create extra pressure on the road. Photo: STAR
Local leaders of the ruling Awami League (AL) have continued illegal sand extraction at the east end of Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge (BMB) over Jamuna River in Bhuapur upazila of Tangail district, causing damage to the approach road of the country's largest road-cum-railway bridge. Desperate to control the illegal business, supporters of rival groups often involve in clashes over establishing supremacy in the unauthorised sand extraction areas. People of Masudul Haque Masud, former president of Bhuapur upazila AL, recently occupied a sand ghat (place for gathering extracted sand) at Palshia from the control of another local ruling party leader Firoz Chowdhury and their men, local sources said. When contacted, Masud, an influential leader of local AL, however, denied his link in the incident. “I am not involved in any sand business at all. It may be another Masud who does sand business," he said. Firoz's supporters, however, said AL leader Masud is the president of the consortium of the local sand traders and he has been controlling the sand businesses through his men sitting at the upazila headquarters. They alleged that people of Masud occupied Palshia sand ghat with the help of local police administration and seriously injured several people there on November 25. Although two cases were filed from both the groups in this regard, police arrested six people of Firoz group to satisfy Masud, they said. Firoz group held a press conference at Tangail Press Club on December 4 demanding administrative steps against the 'clique' between AL leader Masud and Bhuapur Police Station officer-in-charge (OC) Ismail Hossain. Talking to this correspondent yesterday, the OC, however, denied all allegations against him, saying, “I have taken steps about the matter as per law. Actually, ruling party men are usually involve in clashes over control of the sand business and those who lose control usually blame police.” When their respective party remains in power, men from AL and BNP have been controlling sand businesses involving crores of taka at four places beside the Jamuna River near east end of Bangabandhu Bridge in Bhuapur upazila for long without giving any revenue to the government treasury. The sand business near the sensitive place had stopped temporarily during the tenure of the army-backed caretaker government. Local AL leaders, however, resumed the business in the same area again after the party came to power, local sources said. The Bangabandhu Bridge authorities at that time had written to the local administrations for replacing the sand business from near the east side guide embankment but local administrations could not do so due to political pressure, said sources in Bangladesh Bridge Authorities (BBA). The sand businesses are running just outside the danger zone (500 metres from the upstream) and hundreds of standing sand-laden trucks are causing damage to the approach road of Bangabandhu Bridge, Mohammad Waheduzzaman, an assistant engineer of BBA, said yesterday. Asked by this correspondent, sand trader Year Ali of Palshia village claimed that they had been running the sand business after getting a court order against the administrative order to stop it. Local sources, however, said the sand traders raised the matter of 'court order' to save their illegal business, but they could not show any such order to anyone. Abdus Sattar Sheikh, additional deputy commissioner (Revenue) of Tangail, said, “We have doubt about any court order in favour of the sand business. We have sent letters to the authorities concerned to verify the matter, but have not got any reply in this regard so far.”
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