27 Eyes on
Sylhet Preview
117
No Stone Unturned By Ferdous Uddin Ahmad At dawn every day, laborers on more than 100 boats enter the Piyain river, buckets and spades in hand. They collect stones and crush them for an industry that reputedly earns huge profits while the workers exist on a paltry $US 4-5 per day. Uncontrolled and unstoppable, stone extracting and crushing at Jaflong poses a serious threat to public health, the environment and to agriculture in the region. There is no legal protection let alone concern for the numerous human rights violations present in this industry. As many as 400 machines crush stone relentlessly and many children suffer hearing problems due to the high-pitched sounds of the machines. The Bangladeshi government has failed to take any measures to moderate stone collection and crushing or its harmful effects. If things continue locals predict that the area will soon turn into a barren land and thousands of people including the indigenous Khashia tribes will be forced to move out. 118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127