Officials in the local government bodies and other relevant departments were involved in the mass looting of white stones from Sylhet’s Sada Pathor area over the past year, said Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan on Sunday.
Punitive actions will soon be decided against the corrupt and unlawfully politicised government officials, the adviser said while speaking with reporters following an ECNEC meeting at the Secretariat.
Different political parties forged unity to carry out the looting for months with administrative support, the adviser said.
She took responsibility for the mass looting that has left the iconic tourist attraction almost depleted of its resources. However, the interim government’s advisers cannot be blamed for the crisis as it is not possible for them to ensure “micromanagement” at the grassroots level, she said.
Rather, it is the duty of subordinate departments and local officials to implement the central government’s decisions.
However, many a time, the local administrative officials are wary of going against certain political parties, which are highly likely to come to power next year, Rizwana said, adding many officials helplessly allowed the looting at Sada Pathor to continue.
The government has banned stone extraction at 17 sites, but still, the illegal activities continued at some sites due to weak supervision by local authorities, she said.
Rizwana and Road Transport Adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan also visited a site to reassure officials of support, something no minister has done in the past, she claimed.
During their return from the site, a vested group intercepted the convoy and staged a “vulgar demonstration” around the advisers’ vehicles, Rizwana alleged.
However, people protested the unruly behaviour, and ultimately, a political party had to suspend some of its activists for staging the demonstration, Rizwana claimed. The event again showed that people’s voice can defeat political interests, she noted.
LND/MSA
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