Sylhet stone traders, workers call transport strike from Saturday over quarry demands

Stone traders and workers in Sylhet have announced a transport strike from Saturday (5 July) if their five-point demand, including the reopening of closed stone quarries, is not met by Friday.

The announcement came from a protest rally held at Court Point in Sylhet city today (2 July).

The five demands are reopening of closed stone quarries, halting operations to destroy crusher machines, stopping detention of trucks carrying stone, ending harassment of drivers, and removal of the Sylhet Deputy Commissioner.

Former mayor of Sylhet and BNP Chairperson's Adviser Ariful Haque Chowdhury attended the rally and expressed solidarity with the protestors.

Speaking at the rally, Ariful Haque Chowdhury said, "The demands of the workers and owners are completely fair and logical. If the government does not take a quick positive decision, Sylhet's economy will halt."

"We are in favour of protecting the environment. At the same time, we do not want harm to traders and workers. Therefore, permission should be given to start stone extraction in an environmentally friendly manner," he added.

Protestors alleged that the administration has been taking one-sided decisions, and that the "zero tolerance" campaign has left workers and owners in crisis.

They warned that if these actions continue, the strike may be extended indefinitely and that the government will be responsible for the consequences.

Leaders of the Stone-Related Owner-Worker Unity Council, as well as representatives from various social and professional organisations, also participated in the protest and expressed support for the movement.

Earlier, on 14 June, Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan, and Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan visited Jaflong, an Ecologically Critical Area (ECA).

Following the inspection, Syeda Rizwana Hasan stated that no stone quarries in Sylhet, including Jaflong, would be leased in future in order to protect the environment.

In line with this, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan directed the local administration to cut power to illegal stone crushing machines.

The administration began enforcement on 16 June and operations are continuing in Sylhet Sadar, Goainghat and Companiganj upazilas.

On 30 June, in one such operation in Companiganj, 17 crusher machines were destroyed, power to 10 was cut, and 1.4 lakh cubic feet of stone was seized.

On earlier dates — 29, 25, and 18 June — power connections to 162 machines in Jaflong were cut, and nearly 300 crushers shut down.

Although the government banned stone and sand extraction in February 2020, illegal operations reportedly continued at night under the patronage of local Awami League leaders.

Locals claim that after the fall of the government on 5 August last year, BNP and its affiliated organisations took control of the quarries and resumed extraction, selling the stones to crusher machine owners for processing and distribution.