The High Court has imposed a four-month ban on the extraction of sand through dredging from the Buaruakhali estuary of the Moheshkhali Channel and the estuary of the Bakkhali River in Cox’s Bazar.
The court directed the concerned respondents to refrain from extracting sand through dredging from the areas until the hearing of a rule issued in the case.
The order was passed on September 3 by a High Court bench comprising Justice Khizir Ahmed Chowdhury and Justice AFM Saiful Karim following the preliminary hearing of a writ petition filed in the public interest by Maheshkhali Press Club president and journalist Md Zainal Abedin.
The writ petition, filed under No. 9955 of 2026, challenged the alleged illegal sand extraction from the Moheshkhali Channel.
According to the court order, the respondents must refrain from dredging and extracting sand from the Buaruakhali and Bakkhali estuaries for four months, pending the hearing of the rule. The court also directed that necessary steps be taken to serve notices on the respondents within three working days.
The writ petition said the Cox’s Bazar district administration had permitted a contracting firm, Tokyo-MIL JV, to extract sand from the Hamidardia and Thakurtala mouzas of Maheshkhali upazila.
The petitioner alleged that the firm violated the conditions of the permission and extracted sand by dredging from the Maheshkhali Channel, the estuary near Adinath Hill, and the mouth of the Bakkhali Channel, in violation of Section 12 of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995, amended in 2010.
Md Zainal Abedin said, “I formally handed over a copy of the High Court order to the Cox’s Bazar deputy commissioner on September 9. Maheshkhali is an island upazila already vulnerable to climate change. If sand is extracted indiscriminately from the estuaries and the area beneath Adinath Hill in violation of the rules, the stability and environment of the island will face a serious threat.”
“We want development work to be carried out in accordance with government approvals and conditions. But extracting sand illegally by deploying dredgers and damaging the environment is in no way desirable,” he added.
Maheshkhali upazila nirbahi officer Imran Mahmud Dalim said, “I have not yet received any official instruction regarding the High Court order. Necessary action will be taken in accordance with the law once we receive the instruction.”
Cox’s Bazar additional deputy commissioner (revenue) said, “We are aware of the High Court order. The copy of the order will be reviewed in detail, and further legal steps will be taken accordingly.”
Tokyo-MIL JV reportedly received a work order to construct a connecting road to the Matarbari deep-sea port in Maheshkhali. The firm obtained permission from the Cox’s Bazar district administration to extract sand from the Hamidardia and Thakurtala mouzas for the project.
However, locals alleged that the firm had failed to comply with most of the 13 conditions attached to the permission. Although the approval specified an 18-inch cutter dredger, the firm allegedly used a 12-inch suction dredger to extract sand.
The petitioner also alleged that the firm extracted sand without obtaining environmental clearance and completing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), despite these being among the approval conditions.
Earlier, on July 21, the Chattogram regional office of the Department of Environment fined the contracting firm Tk 50,37,780 for extracting sand from the Maheshkhali Channel without environmental clearance. Locals alleged that sand extraction continued despite the fine.
Following the High Court’s four-month injunction, sand extraction through dredging from the two estuaries is expected to remain suspended.
Environmentalists and concerned residents are now watching what steps the local administration and the Department of Environment take to ensure the court’s order is implemented.
Cox’s Bazar Life Report
Photo: Collected
