News Flash
DHAKA, Aug 17, 2025 (BSS) - Water Resources and Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan today said the local administration in Sylhet could not take risks in the face of 'unity among all parties' over stone looting from Sada Pathor.
"The local administration was complicit or remained silent over the looting of stones in the Sada Pathor tourist spot in Sylhet. Perhaps they could not take risks due to local all-party unity there. However, we will investigate the involvement of the administration in this matter," she said.
The adviser said this while talking to journalists at her Water Resources Ministry office in the Bangladesh Secretariat here this afternoon.
"In the last 10 to 20 years, you may check whether any minister or state minister visited the field to protect the environment and tourist spots. We, two advisers, went there to protect the environment but faced obstacles," added Rizwana.
About Sada Pathor area in Sylhet, she said, "We went there with an aim to transform the Sada Pathor area into an international tourist spot. Despite local resistance, we said it must be protected at any cost. But the local administration failed to protect it."
The adviser argued, "When the people become powerful, political parties have no job there. Ultimately, people win. I believe Sylhet will also see the victory of its people."
Regarding the 13th parliamentary election, Rizwana said, "The Chief Adviser has already announced that the national election will be held in the first half of February (in 2026). The Election Commission has been instructed to get prepared accordingly, and they are doing so."
Replying to a question from journalists about different political statements following the announcement of the election timeline, she said, political parties have their own calculations, but that has nothing to do with the government's stance.
