Jaflong ECA Crackdown: Equipment Destroyed in Illegal Stone and Sand Raid

Sylhet's Department of Environment, in a joint initiative alongside local administrative bodies, carried out a major enforcement operation targeting illegal extraction activities within the Jaflong Ecologically Critical Area located in the Gowainghat upazila of Sylhet.

The raid was spearheaded by Executive Magistrate Tania Akter, who led a specially constituted mobile court to crack down on unauthorized industrial and environmental violations occurring inside the protected ecological zone.

During the sweeping operation, security forces and environmental officials confiscated and subsequently destroyed a massive cache of heavy machinery and transport equipment deployed for illicit stone and sand extraction.

The destroyed and seized inventory comprised 10 dredgers, six excavators, five generators, 44 barki boats, 13 conveyor belts, 15 shallow engines, and nine batteries across multiple locations, effectively crippling local illegal mining infrastructure.

The coordinated mission involved personnel from the Department of Environment's Sylhet divisional and district offices, alongside the Gowainghat upazila administration and local police forces working together to enforce environmental protection laws.

Underscoring the government's firm stance on environmental conservation, Md. Abul Kalam Azad stated that regular mobile court operations will continue to be enforced to combat unauthorized stone and sand extraction, air pollution, hill and tilla cutting, illegal brick kilns, and banned polythene use.