Sand traders are accused of removing the structures of a bird colony and installing dredgers to extract sand at Madhuban on the Atrai river in Mahadebpur, Naogaon.

At 3.30pm on Monday, 28 December, the upazila assistant commissioner (land) went to the spot and had the dredging equipment removed.

Earlier, at some point on the night of Saturday, 26 December, sand traders had removed bamboo and other materials from the migratory bird sanctuary on the Atrai and begun dredging sand. Environment and nature conservation activists expressed strong anger that sand traders were destroying the bird colony at a time when the government was taking steps to protect birds.

For the past 10 to 12 years, thousands of migratory birds of various species, including sarali, cormorants and dubri, have come from cold countries such as Siberia and Mongolia to about three kilometres of the Atrai in Mahadebpur upazila, at Madhuban, Kunjaban and other areas. The local Pran O Prakriti Sangathan and local people have worked to protect them, building a bird colony at Madhuban with bamboo and other materials.

Following local demands, the organisation's leaders had been calling for an end to leasing a sand quarry in the government-declared fish sanctuary and bird colony area at Madhuban. As a result, the administration stopped the lease this year. Even so, sand traders continued extracting sand illegally in the bird colony.

After Pran O Prakriti Sangathan lodged a written complaint, the assistant commissioner (land) fined the traders through a mobile court on 19 November and had the dredgers removed from the river. Then, at some point on the night of 26 December, the sand traders removed bamboo and other materials from the bird sanctuary, installed six dredgers on the western part of the river and began extracting sand.

Kazi Nazmul Haque, president of Pran O Prakriti Sangathan, said: "Although Madhuban was not leased by the government, several sand traders, including Haji Moazzem Hossain, were using their influence to extract sand there illegally. That stretch is a fish sanctuary declared by the upazila fisheries office, and migratory birds come here every year. When we complained, the administration fined the sand traders. They were angered, removed the colony's bamboo, installed dredgers and started extracting sand again." He said firm action was needed to protect life and birds.

Trader Haji Moazzem Hossain said: "We spent Tk 1 lakh 67 thousand building a sanctuary there with bamboo and wood. Some opponents are creating obstacles to sand extraction in various ways. We want the birds to be well. But the money we spent to take the lease also has to be considered. Nothing has been removed from there. The allegations against us are not true."

Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) Asma Khatun said: "Sand was being extracted from an area outside the lease, in breach of the sand quarry and soil management law. For this offence the mobile court collected a fine of Tk 50,000."

Mahadebpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mizanur Rahman said: "They have been told to remove the sand quarry equipment at the site. If they do not listen, legal action will be taken against them."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.