A mobile court on Monday burnt ten dredgers, locally called Bangla dredgers, as they were used for lifting sand from the New Dhaleswari river in Kalihati upazila.

The court also damaged an excavator and broke plastic pipes that were used to lift sand from the river.

The court seized 8.37 lakh cubic feet of sand, worth about Tk 25 lakh, which the sand traders had lifted from several spots on the river.  

Influential people have been illegally lifting sand with dredgers from Gohaliabari and Doshokia unions in the upazila for long, causing erosion of the river banks and damaging the local environment.

Kalihati Assistant Commissioner (AC-Land), Nafisa Akter, along with police, launched a drive on the day and seized the dredgers, excavators, pipes and sand from several spots, including Beltia area, confluence of the Jamuna and the New Dhaleswari rivers.

The sand lifters, however, managed to flee after sensing presence of the mobile court.

The AC told this correspondent that the seized dredgers were burnt and the pipes were broken in front of the local people.

Such drives will continue until illegal sand lifting in the areas is stopped, she added.