Sand Extraction and Its Impact on the Livelihood of Rural People of Bangladesh: Evidence from Brahmaputra River

The demand for sand has risen dramatically as a result of rising urbanization and industrialization. Sand becomes a scarce resource. In Asia, sand demand is described as “non-linear.†For example, China used more sand to produce concrete in 2011 and 2013 than the United States did in the whole twentieth century. The government delegated sand extraction to private parties. Sand grabbers take sand in a variety of unlawful and unexpected ways since it is considered a successful industry. Illegal sand extraction has negative consequences for the riverine ecology and people’s livelihoods. Most newspaper articles focus on the negative effects of unlawful and sand mining in underdeveloped nations like Bangladesh, where a large number of people rely on river-based economies to meet their fundamental necessities. Academics have mostly disregarded the social aspects of sand extraction. In this regard, the purpose of this paper was to investigate the effects of sand extraction on the lifestyle of people living along riverbanks and chars. Primary data was obtained from Chilmari (Sub-district), Kurigram, where the Brahmaputra River has an impact on people’s lives in various ways, in order to achieve the research’s goals. Using primary and secondary data, it can be concluded that unlawful and unplanned sand extraction contributed significantly to the destruction of the river-based ecology and environment. Individuals, communities, and states lost human, natural, social, and physical capital (property) as a result of degraded ecosystems and environments. Finally, it had an impact on the life of Bangladesh’s riparian people.