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Authorities have recovered more than 250,000 cubic feet of stone looted from Sada Pathar, a popular tourist site in Sylhet’s Companiganj, during raids across two Upazilas.
The stones were seized on Saturday during drives in Sylhet Sadar and Gowainghat Upazilas, from different houses and crusher mills, bdnews24.com reports.
Two separate teams launched operations in Mahaladik and surrounding villages of Sadar Upazila at 10am, said Upazila Administrator (UNO) Khushnoor Rubaiyath.
Members of the Army, police and Ansar joined the raids.
“We found stones in nearly every household in Mahaladik,” said the UNO. “Small heaps were stacked in courtyards and inside homes. These came from the crusher mills in Dhopagul.”
She said her team seized the stones from both residential properties and mills. “We’ve recorded the names of the people involved. Legal action will be taken against the homeowners and mill owners.”
The UNO noted that the operation will continue until all illegally extracted resources are recovered.
In a separate drive in Gowainghat’s Fatehpur Union, officials seized another 2,500 cubic feet of Sada Pathar from the Binnakandi area, according to UNO Ratan Kumar Adhikari.
Looting at Sada Pathar began openly following a political shift on Aug 5 last year.
Like other quarries in the region, the Dhalai River’s source point saw rampant extraction -- with hundreds of boats transporting stone in broad daylight.
In many areas, looters dug directly into the riverbanks to collect stone and sand.
The uncontrolled extraction left the landscape damaged and scarred -- at one of the country’s most popular natural tourism sites.
Local residents have accused leaders from different political parties of backing or profiting from the looting.
After the issue drew attention on social media, both the Anti-Corruption Commission and the local administration moved into action.
In response, the High Court ordered authorities to recover the looted stone within seven days and return it to its original site.
Since then, officials have launched special drives. During the operations, they have uncovered large quantities of stone hidden beneath sand and soil, and concealed inside houses and crusher mills.