The High Court today directed the government to immediately stop illegal sand extraction from the Gorai river in Kushtia.

The court also issued a rule asking the authorities concerned of the government to explain in four weeks why extraction of sand from the Gorai and the Padma rivers in Kushtia should not be declared illegal.

The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice KM Hafizul Alam came up with the order and rule following a writ petition filed by a local businessman, Anwarul Haque Masum, challenging the legality of illegal extraction of sand from the Gorai and the Padma rivers in Kushtia.

The HC also directed the deputy commissioner of Kushtia to dispose of the application filed by Anwarul Haque Masum, who obtained a lease, seeking permission for sand extraction from an area of the Gorai river.

Masum’s lawyer advocate Habi-un-Nabai told The Daily Star that his client had obtained a lease from the authorities concerned of the government for extracting sand from an area of Gorai river, but some influential local people are illegally extracting sand from different areas from the river damaging the environment and changing flow of the river water.

Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik appeared for the state.