Online Desk

Tourists have started coming back to Sadapathar in Companiganj upazila of Sylhet. This tourist center, which was abandoned due to stone looting worth several hundred crores of taka, has started to return to its previous form to some extent. After a rigorous operation to recover the looted stones, local tourists have become interested in the news of their replacement. Nature lovers from other parts of the country are also coming.

On the spot, it can be seen that hundreds of tourists have ended the silence of the last few days. Although rows of boats were tied at the ghat after the stone looting, that day was an exception. Tourists are coming and taking boats touring around. Some were expressing their excitement by swimming in the clear water of the stone-strewn Dhalai. Others were busy taking pictures.

However, those who had visited before the looting felt regret when they came back to visit Sadapathar. According to many, the previous beauty of Sadapathar is gone. Earlier, there were many stones in the tourist center. Now there are fewer. As a result, the beauty has also decreased. And those who came to visit for the first time had more excitement in their eyes. The amount of white stones there is, which is what makes them enjoy it.

After the stone looting, joint forces conducted a raid in various places in Sylhet on the orders of the High Court. At least 550,000 cubic feet of stones were recovered. They were replaced in the chest of Dhalai by the administration. The raid is still ongoing. This time, the Sylhet district administration has announced that the Sapadhar area will be brought under the control of CCTV cameras. Tourists are happy with such an announcement.

All the tourist centers in Sylhet are built on a mixture of rivers, stones and mountains. They have urged the government to be more aware of protecting them.

Mahidul Islam, an expatriate, came to visit Sapadhar with his family for the first time. While swimming in the clear water of Dhalai with his teenage son, he said, "If this is the form of Sapadhar after such a big looting, then I don't know how beautiful it was before." We are very happy. My son and wife have proposed that whenever the opportunity arises, we will come to see the white stone. We will definitely come again. The government will be more sincere. We hope that the locals will be aware.

Meanwhile, Humayun Kabir Liton, convener of the Tour Operators Association of Sylhet (TOAS), said that the damage done to the white stone cannot be repaired. There is a big difference between replacing the stone by human hands and the careful replacement of nature.

He said that the authorities concerned should be more aware of the lessons we have learned from the white stone and protect all the tourist centers of Sylhet.