Soil extraction from Gomti River has been going on unabated day and night. Soil cutting from any sides of Gomti River posing a threat to the normal flow of river and an erosion in the coming rainy season.
Locals alleged that, influentials extract soil from the river side in night also and this scenerio seems a big hut for selling the soil. Hundreds of trucks are being filled with riverside soil every day. So, riverside people are facing an adverse situation of sound pollution.
The river protection embankment also is under threat. Gomti is the main River of Cumilla District. Tripura in India is the birth place of River, from there it came to Cumilla through Kotorbazar Border then it flaws through Cumilla Sadar, Burichang, Brahmanpara, Debidwar, Muradnagar, Titas and falls into Meghna River at Sapta of Daudkanti Upazila.
The authority could not take any step against that illegal soil extraction. The riverside soil is being cut from 10 to 12 spots and more than 300 tractors are being used for this work. On the other hand, three bridges in Kalikapur, Laksmipur and Khalilpur of Debidwar are under threat of collapse as overloaded soil-laden trucks are passingat every minute. The cultivation of seasonal vegetables, especially winter vegetables including paddy, jute, wheat and mustard have been almost stopped.
Different organisations including Cumilla District and Upazila Administration for Farmers’ Welfare, and Organisation to Protect Dam have imposed ban on soil extraction from Gomti River. It resulted that day time soil extraction may stop for few days but night-long soil cutting is going on.
Due to greediness of many local influential people, the river and river side roads, bridges are under threat. The influential are making huge money by selling the earth of river Gomti under the very nose of local administration and law enforcement agencies.
Cumilla Adarsha Sadar Upazila UNO Romen Sharma said that conditional soil cutting permission has been given to some people at Amtoli point of Gomti River. If anyone cross the limitations, then they will take immediate step, the UNO warned.
Executive Engineer of Cumilla Water Development Board (WDB) Khan Mohammad Waliuzzaman informed that several cases have been filed against the illegal soil cutters and drive against illegal soil cutting from riverside is going on.
