Special Correspondent: It has been alleged that 25 lakh cubic feet of sand have disappeared out of the 50 lakh cubic feet of sand impounded by the Shankhandi dredging project in Satkania. As half of the sand was not in the spot within 50 days of the seizure, many questions have arisen in the public’s mind. The government has lost a huge amount of revenue due to collusion with the administration. Therefore, the locals demand a fair investigation and take action against the behind-the-scenes criminals.
On 9/26/22, an application was made to the Chittagong district administration to stop the sand low-cut of the current chairman of Charati Union, Ruhullah Chowdhury Syndicate. Abul Hossain of Dwip Charti, Zillur Rahman of Dakshin Brahmandenga, Maulana Nurul Kabir, and Bajal Ahmed were mentioned in the syndicate and requested to recover the government revenue.
The news was published in the print version of The Crime newspaper on October 2, 2022. Due to the administration’s failure to take proper steps, between on October 2, 2022. Due to the administration’s failure to take proper steps, between September 26, 2022, and May 20, 2023, billions of rupees of sand were lost.
However, the upazila executive officer says that the auction committee auctioned the sand that was found.
Investigation revealed that during the illegal sale of sand for dredging the Sankh River, the mobile court seized 50 lakh cubic feet of sand. Its market value is Tk 4 crore, according to the press release sent by the UNO office. This sand auction has been notified three times with a gap of about 50 days to give the sand buyers an opportunity. In the meantime, half of the seized sand has disappeared.
The latest auction notice issued on May 2, 2023, shows the quantity of seized sand as 2.5 million cubic feet. On the one hand, there was a delay, and on the other hand, the upazila Assistant Commissioner (Lands) published the circular for the third and last time without looking for the lost sand and scavengers.
Conscious people claimed that 25 million cubic feet of sand have been looted in Anta by the upazila administration. Meanwhile, the scavengers seized in the operation were also not recovered from the owner. The administration also has a mysterious role in this matter.
A sensational incident happened in the South Brahmadenga area on the bank of the Sangu River in the Charti Union of Satkania Upazila. Locals have complained to the District Commissioner about illegal government sand looting, but no action has been taken, they complain.
According to upazila administration sources, on the afternoon of March 14 this year, Chittagong District Administration Executive Magistrate Prateek Dutta, along with the force, arrested a person named Saikat Das during the illegal sale of sand extracted under the dredging project of the Sangu River in the South Brakshandenga area of Charati Union of Satkania Upazila of Chittagong. Nate arrested. At the same time, 50 lakh cubic feet of sand, excavators, and trucks used for selling sand were seized from that spot. When Saikat Das admitted to extracting and selling sand illegally for a long time with the help of an influential group in the area, he was fined one lakh taka and sentenced to seven days without labor. Later, the seized sand and excavator were handed over to local UP Chairman Ruhullah Chowdhury.
Later, upazila auction committee convenor and assistant commissioner (land) Arafat Siddiqui invited bids from any trade license holder or genuine business organization for the auction. In that tender notice, the amount of sand is 40 lakh cubic feet, and the estimated price per cubic foot is mentioned as five rupees. According to him, the auction was scheduled to be held on April 13 at noon, but due to mysterious reasons, the same sand was re-tendered on the same day.
In this notification, the amount of sand is shown as 30 lakh cubic feet, and the estimated price is reduced by three rupees. An auction post-ceremony was mentioned for April 18 at noon, but it did not happen. The auction was called for the third and last time on the same beach on April 24. According to that notice, this auction was completed last Tuesday (May 2) afternoon. In this notification, the amount of sand is further reduced to 25 lakh cubic feet. And by reducing the price of sand by another rupee, the estimated price of a cubic foot of sand is fixed at only one taka.
On the last day of the auction, when Sarezmin visited the Upazila Bhumi office, the sand buyers present in the office, named Kamal Uddin, Zahir Uddin, and Mostak Ahmad, complained that they could not participate in the latest auction because the visible notice was not published. The upazila administration has taken shelter.
On the condition of anonymity, a resident of the Charati Bangla Bazar area told The Crime that the Ruhullah Syndicate, who low-cut the sand, has been entrusted with sand and scavengers! It was a surprise. How Balu Kheko Zillur Rahman built a paved house in a few days will reveal the real story.
In this regard, Arafat Siddiqui, convenor of the sand auction committee, told The Crime that a public auction notice was posted on the notice board of the UNO office and his office. There is no hiding here.
Regarding the decrease in the amount of sand, he told The Crime that the seized sand and excavators were seized and handed over to the chairman after the mobile court raids. That scavenger has now been stolen.
Several people from the South Brahmandenga area of Charati Union, who did not want to be named, told The Crime that the confiscated sand was sold by the custodian day and night. The deposit was betrayed by the depositor.
They also said that the person to whom the confiscated sand is entrusted is the biggest sand maker in the area. Giving him custody of the impounded sand is like giving the fish to the cat.
Many others say that the concerned administration has invited tenders three times to show legal transparency without giving a notice in the newspaper for auctioning the preferred persons.
Many people have a different opinion and say that the administration has given the custodian the opportunity to sell the seized sand by delaying the auction process three times. Because of this, the amount of sand has decreased every time the auction is called. Therefore, it is known that the upazila administration did not monitor or supervise the seized sand.
Acknowledging the fact that the scavengers were taken hostage, Charti Union Chairman Ruhullah Chowdhury told The Crime, “I have seen and signed the paper given by the upazila administration. However, I have not seen the skeleton. I have no experience with this. It is impossible to guard someone who has been taken in the dark of night. Apart from this, he also denied the issue of sand loss.
A resident of Satkania and former organizing secretary of the Central Committee of the Independence Physicians Parishad (Swachip), Dr. AMM Minhajur Rahman, told The Crime that the powerful Balukheko circle has benefited from the entire process. As a result, the government has been deprived of several crores of revenue. It is important to bring those involved in this crime under the law and recover government revenue. Or the possibility of looting sand from other places lifted in dredging cannot be ruled out.
Chittagong Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) Masud Kamal told The Crime that the first time the measurement may have been wrong, and I think the second time was also wrong. A third time is not the same. The matter will be discussed later.
Apu Dev, sub-divisional engineer of the Water Development Board Potia and member secretary of the sand auction committee, told The Crime that due to the theft of sand from the pile, the amount of sand has been reduced and auctioned. Legal action is being taken against the theft of sand and excavators.
Satkania Upazila Executive Officer Fatema-Tuz-Zohra told The Crime about the theft of excavators and the reduced quantity of sand that the sand auction committee is not concerned with how much sand has been seized. As much as was found on the spot was auctioned. We will report on what is not available.
