Jafflong on the brink of eco-disaster

Besides destroying the ecology, illegal stone collection is threatening houses on the bank of Piain river in Jafflong. PHOTO: STAR

Besides, the country's borderline is changing day by day since erosion takes place in the area due to the hill cutting.

Jafflong is located just near the border of India's Meghalaya state.

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There has been some 'major changes' in the borderline in the last few decades.

To cite an example, the previous location of Sangram Border Outpost (BOP) of BDR was eroded years ago. It was shifted inside, about half a kilometers away from the previous location.

Local people talking to this correspondent during a recent visit said they apprehend that the new BOP and Mohammadpur and Mamarbazar areas may also face same fate if the illegal hill cutting and consequent erosion continues unabated.

At least 10,000 people including over 2500 women labourers are engaged in stone and sand collection from the Ballagaht quarry in Jafflong area, they said.

Extraction no longer goes on in the quarry area only. The gangs have spread their activities to surrounding plain lands and hillocks.

However, their plunder is interrupted at times, when the local administration and law enforcers launch "drives" on orders from higher authorities.

But the gangs "manage" the persons concerned and resume their illegal work within days, locals alleged.

Abdur Rahman, a small trader at Jafflong Bazar said, there is none to look into the matter though it is going on for long. The hill river Dauki which enters Bangladesh as Piain may devour at least 10 villages in and around Jafflong if it flows through Kandubasti and Mandirjum in the coming monsoon, he apprehended.

This will cause a large scale damage to lands and property and make hundreds of families homeless, echoed another resident of the area, Abdul Mannan.

Jafflong area will face an ecological disaster due to this indiscriminate stone collection and hill cutting, he feared.

Last year, waters rolling down Indian hills through Kandubasti and Mandirjum damaged property worth several crore taka. Besides, the Jafflong Road was badly damaged while Sylhet remained cut off with Jafflong for two and a half months, they said. The same thing may happen this year also.

Moreover, vast lands will become uncultivable due to deposit of sand, they added.

The academic atmosphere in Ballaghat Government Primary School is also being greatly hampered for long.

While visiting the area, this correspondent saw a number of machines around the school crushing stones, creating noise. The school is located near Ballaghat Bbazaar, close to Jaffalong.

On the other hand, landslide has become a regular incident during rainy season.

Stone extraction goes on in the area for about eight months a year, except the rainy season. Every day, about 200 trucks carry stones to Sylhet and other places.

When contacted, Tamijuddin Ahmed, Deputy Director of the Department of Environment in Sylhet, said he we sent reports to higher authorities on several occasions stating the environmental hazards caused by stone extraction and crushing. "Locally, we do not

have any arrangement to take action against the people engaged in the illegal activities", he said.