Illegal Sand Mining Pushes Sitakunda’s Akilpur Beach to the Brink of Extinction
Unplanned sand extraction has pushed the Sitakunda Banshbaria coast into severe jeopardy, threatening to erode the picturesque Akilpur beach. Local homesteads, arable land, and coastal embankments are facing immense risk. Despite long-standing demands from residents to halt the illegal sand mining, the authorities have failed to take any effective measures. Consequently, local inhabitants organised a human chain to protect their homesteads and ancestral lands.
The human chain was held on Thursday afternoon, October 23, along the Akilpur embankment, drawing thousands of participants from various professions, including men and women from the Banshbaria area. Demonstrators demanded immediate administrative intervention to permanently stop all forms of illegal sand extraction.
Speakers at the human chain stated that illegal sand is being extracted daily using dredgers along the coastline stretching from Muradpur to Faujdarhat. This practice poses a severe threat to local residences, agricultural land, and the coastal embankment. If left unchecked, the embankment could collapse at any time, inundating vast surrounding areas and causing homes to be lost to the powerful ocean currents.
Speakers further emphasised the urgent need for local administration and higher authorities to step in and permanently shut down illegal sand extraction to safeguard their last remaining possessions and coastal assets. They strongly called for immediate action to stop the operations.
Among those present at the human chain were Ward BNP President Yusuf Azad, Ward Jamaat President Maulana Mohammad Nizam Uddin, Union Jamaat Publicity Secretary Maulana Mohammad Delwar Hossain, Union BNP Volunteer Wing Convener Mohammad Abul Kashem, and Khatib of Chhaladar Jame Mosque Maulana Mohammad Alauddin. Local dignitaries and residents, including Yasin Arafat, Rezaul Karim, and Mohammad Hasan, also participated in the demonstration.
