 Milon Raihan Joypurhat Correspondent: 8 January 25 A grand festival of soil sales is going on in Joypurhat, where soil is dug up from the sides of three crop lands, rivers and dams. In more than a hundred lands in the district, ponds are being dug up using excavator machines (Veku) and soil is being sold illegally. As a result, the sold soil is being transported by tractors. During soil transportation, the soil on the asphalt road of the village is being eroded by the pressure of the tractor. The soil is falling on the asphalt road, destroying the bitumen. It is known that the soil dug up from the ponds is being sold for 550-700 taka per tractor, depending on the distance. No government permission has been taken to dig it. A festival of soil digging is going on in the crop lands of five upazilas of Joypurhat. They are running a soil business by intimidating the common people. A local influential group is cutting and selling this soil with Veku machines. They are cutting the soil of the cropland without paying attention to the rules and regulations, showing the administration the thumbs up. As a result of this cutting, the fertility of the soil is being destroyed, as well as the adjacent land is being damaged. The locals demand that legal action be taken against them immediately. They are misleading the simple people and luring the farmers with cash money without informing them about the damage, and selling the fertile soil of the upper part of the cropland for a nominal amount. Sajal of Dharki village in Joypurhat Sadar upazila said, “We have soil on the side of the river and the Khera, and the soil is being cut without permission. This girl is still selling the soil by filling the land with three crops in one place. We are drawing the attention of the administration to stop this cutting of soil immediately.” Sohel, a farmer from Borail village in Khetlal upazila, and Mujibar Rahman, a farmer from Solar Para village, said that we are selling the soil of the cropland to reduce the burden of debt as we have suffered losses in all the crops produced. Zillur Rahman, a soil trader in Khetlal Upazila, said that the price of soil is determined more or less depending on the distance from which the land is sold. Agriculture expert Rahela Parveen, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Joypurhat, told Daily Present Time that the nutritious soil on the surface of the land is being cut, and it will not be possible to protect food security if soil cutting is not stopped now. Afroza Akhter Chowdhury, Deputy Commissioner, Joypurhat. told Daily Present Time that according to the Soil Management Act 2010, cutting soil on any cropland with a dredger or machine is prohibited. The district administration is always aware of this. If any complaint is received, legal action will be taken against them with the help of law enforcement agencies. The locals demand that legal action be taken against them immediately.
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