The government is formulating a policy on extraction of sand from rivers where night-time extraction will be banned said State Minister for Water Resources Zahid Faruk.

The minister said this at a ‘BSRF Dialogue’ arranged by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum at the secretariat on Monday.

He said sand mining is the prime reason for river erosion and the business is booming though the investment is very low.

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“We cannot stop sand extraction from rivers as it will increase the price of sand and different development projects will be hampered. We urge the concerned businessmen to follow government’s guideline but they mostly lift sand from the riverbanks where there are cement blocks, mud embankments. Even if we use iron made embankments it won’t last longer for sand extraction,” he added.

The Minister said the proposed policy will soon be placed during cabinet meeting. “So we suggest the sand extraction can be done from 6 am to 6 pm so that everyone including the locals see the matter.”

Regarding Teesta water sharing deal with India the minister said, “We are concerned about the Teesta deal and want to make it happen.  The progress in this regard has slowed down due to the Chief Minister of West Bengal. We may soon be able to resolve the issue.”

Zahid Faruk said “I have been keeping an eye on Sunamganj flood situation from the very beginning. A project worth Tk 1,547 crore has been taken to dredge 14 rivers there. We will try to get it passed by ECNEC by October and start  activities before the next monsoon.”

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He said even if 20 percent of the work is done before the monsoon, there will be no more damage in the haor area of Sunamganj.

BSRF President Tapan Biswas presided over the programme conducted by BSRF General Secretary Masudul Haque.