The environmental integrity of Sylhet is once again under siege as the notorious “stone-eating” syndicates reassert their dominance over the region’s landscape. Despite a brief hiatus following high-level administrative intervention last year, the illegal extraction of minerals at Sarpin Tila (also known as Shah Arefin Tila) in Companiganj has reached a fever pitch. Described by locals as a “looting festival,” the operation has seen the systematic dismantling of a hill that once stood over 100 feet tall, now reduced to a series of perilous, 60-foot-deep chasms.
A Sophisticated Criminal Enterprise
The syndicate’s operations are as brazen as they are destructive. During the daylight hours, upwards of a hundred illegal suction dredgers—colloquially termed “Boma machines” due to their explosive impact on the terrain—are deployed to suck stone and sand from deep within the earth. To avoid detection by aerial or road patrols during the day, the transport of the haul is strictly a nocturnal affair. Under the cover of darkness, convoys of tractors move the raw material to crushing plants in Volaganj and Parua, where the evidence is processed into commercial gravel and sold.
The sheer resilience of this network is attributed to its “bipartisan” nature. Intelligence reports and local testimonies suggest the involvement of over fifty influential figures, including high-ranking members of both the Awami League and the BNP. This political patronage has allowed the cartel to survive even the most rigorous administrative purges.
The Limits of Law Enforcement
The current Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, Md. Sarwar Alam, previously renowned for his strict enforcement during his tenure as a magistrate, initially succeeded in bringing the quarries to a standstill. However, his recent inspection of Sarpin Tila revealed a grim reality: the cartels have returned with a vengeance. While the local administration and police conduct raids almost daily, the results are often ephemeral.
| Operation Metric | Details of Recent Enforcement |
| Total Detentions | Over 50 individuals in the last fortnight |
| Formal Charges | 47 kingpins named in active warrants |
| Tactical Setbacks | “Boma” machines repaired and redeployed within 48 hours |
| Legal Hurdle | Arrests primarily target low-level labourers; masters remain at large |
Companiganj OC Md. Shafiqul Islam Khan highlighted the difficulty of the situation, noting that the economic desperation of the local populace makes them willing participants in the syndicate’s work. Furthermore, the 47 identified ringleaders have reportedly fled their usual residences to avoid arrest, directing operations from the shadows while the “stone-eating” machines continue to turn the ancient hills into hollowed-out ponds.
The environmental consequences are dire. The hollowing out of Sarpin Tila to depths of 60 feet has created a massive risk of landslides and permanent ecological collapse in the Companiganj belt. Without a sustained, top-down crackdown on the financiers of this trade, the region’s natural heritage faces total erasure.