Sylhet, Aug 31 (V7N) – Rangpani, a picturesque tourist spot in Jaintiapur Upazila’s Sreepur area, has become the latest victim of widespread stone and sand looting—continuing a disturbing trend identical to epidemics at Sada Pathar, Jaflong, and Bisnakandi. Despite periodic crackdowns, organized extraction of natural resources persists, threatening the site’s ecological integrity and tourism potential.
 
Experts warn that indiscriminate dumping of broken-cut stones into the Rangpani River—often used to restore extracted material—is ecologically counterproductive. Professor Md. Mozammel Haque of Shahjalal University cautions that such debris disrupts natural flow patterns, accelerates erosion, and harms riverine biodiversity.
 
Locals accuse politically connected syndicates, including former Awami League patrons and currently, leaders linked to BNP and Jubo Dal, of orchestrating the ongoing looting. Workers are reported to cross into India to extract stones, break them into pieces, and transport them by barges—sometimes 60–80 cubic feet per trip—charging informal fees of Tk 800 per barge and Tk 3,000 per truck.
 
In response to public outrage, authorities have intensified recovery efforts. On a single day, officials confiscated 28,000 cubic feet of sand and returned looted stones to Rangpani. Other days saw even larger hauls: 35 trucks of sand and 9,500 cubic feet of stone.
 
The Sylhet district administration launched a five‑point enforcement plan, including 24‑hour deployment of joint forces in vulnerable areas, shutdowns of illegal crushers, arrests of perpetrators, and restoration of extracted stones to their original locations. 
 
Nonetheless, stone theft persists, with recent raids uncovering 11,000 cubic feet of submerged stones in operational drives. Two suspects were detained .
 
Moreover, environmental activists and citizen groups, such as BAPA, continue to criticize administrative inertia, urging enforcement commensurate with the scale of the environmental destruction.
 
Rangpani’s natural allure, once immortalized in 1980s–90s films starring Salman Shah and others, now faces irreversible damage. The site’s future hinges on sustained protective measures, transparent governance, and restoration efforts to preserve it as a heritage tourism spot
 
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