MOKAMMEL SHUVO, Cox’s Bazar

In blatant disregard of a High Court directive, the hills of Cox’s Bazar continue to be stripped bare and the soil sold off by the truckload to brick kilns and construction sites.

Under cover of night and amid lax monitoring by authorities concerned, excavators roar across Ramu, Pekua, Ukhiya and Sadar upazilas, flattening landscapes that have stood for centuries

If unchecked, environmentalists warn that the district’s hilly terrain may vanish altogether, leaving fragile ecosystems destroyed and those who live beneath these slopes increasingly vulnerable to landslides and floods.

During the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, a 200-foot hill spanning around 10 acres was flattened in the Ghonarpara area of Purba Lamapara under Kauarkhop union, about 10 kilometres from Ramu upazila town.

Local sources report that hill grabbers operated excavators daily from 7:00pm to 6:00am, stripping soil and selling it to brick kilns and supplying development projects through unregistered dump trucks.

They further said at least eight hills have already been razed in Kauarkhop and South Mithachhari unions under the Ramu upazila. Rampant hill cutting has also been reported in the Lama Para and Ukhiyarghona areas.

According to Musaib Ibne Rahman, inspector at the Cox’s Bazar Department of Environment (DoE), a drive was conducted on March 30 in Lama Para, Ghonar Para and School Para under Kauarkhop union of Ramu by the upazila administration and the local DoE.

Officials found evidence of hill cutting at eight to nine locations without government approval, with around 90,000 cubic feet of soil already extracted and sold.

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