Bangladesh’s booming construction sector is facing a severe shortage of sand and gravel, essential materials for building. In response, the country is turning to the Himalayan rivers in the north, where vast amounts of stone are being extracted during the dry season. This stone is crushed into gravel and supplied to the booming construction industry. However, this frantic extraction process comes at a great human and environmental cost.
Thousands of migrant workers, along with their families, have converged on areas like Tamabil and Bholaganj to dig up and transport the valuable stones by hand. The work is grueling and dangerous, often performed under extreme conditions. Workers, including women and children, labor for long hours in physically demanding tasks, facing risks of injury from sharp stones, unstable riverbanks, and harsh weather. Despite the hardship, these workers rely on the income to support their families in a country where economic opportunities are limited.
The environmental toll is also devastating. The extraction of stones disrupts river ecosystems, leading to erosion, habitat loss, and the degradation of water quality. The delicate balance of the rivers is disturbed, threatening biodiversity and impacting the livelihoods of local communities who depend on these waterways for fishing and agriculture. The relentless digging and transportation of stones exacerbate the natural disaster risks in the region, including flooding and soil erosion, making the environmental damage long-lasting.
This story highlights the urgent need for sustainable building practices and better working conditions for the people caught in this cycle of destruction.
Subject of a frantic construction boom, Bangladesh is in acute shortage of sand and gravel for building purposes. The Himalayan rivers in the north of the country are being dug up during the dry season for their quality stones that will be crushed into gravel for the construction sector. Thousand of migrant workers converge to Tamabil and Bholaganj with their entire families to extract and carry stones by hand. This is the story of these women, children and men working relentlessly in extreme conditions. Stone diggers, Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Heavy labour in the numerous brick kilns are mainly done by women. In particular before the production season starts and the brick kilns and storage places need to be sorted. Entire families migrate to work and live during the seanon at the brick kilns. The brick production season runs during the dry months from December to May. All labour is done manually. Amin Bazar brick kilns are the main supplier site for the booming contractuction sector in Dhaka, and also the cause of extreme air pollution in the capital, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone divers sorting stones that will later be used to supply the booming construction sector. Dholai river in Bholaganj, Bangladesh, May 2016
Gabtoli docks along Dhaka's waterways, Bangladesh, October 2014
Stone crushers, Jaflong, Bangladesh, May 2016
Diver fetching stones at a depth 4 to 8m in the Goyain river near Tamabil, Bangladesh, May 2016
Stone diggers, Jaflong in northern Bangladesh, December 2015
Carrying coal to the heart of the brick kiln. The fire in the brick kiln will be maintained throughout the 8 months production period during which air pollution in and around Dhaka reach alarming levels, Amin Bazar brick kilns in Dhaka suburbs, Bangladesh, December 2015
Loading the boat with finished bricks, Amin Bazar brick kilns, Bangladesh, May 2015
The majority of the brick kiln workforce are internal migrants from rural areas moving to Dhaka during the brick production season from December to May. Often entire families migrate when they can live around the brick fields and provide work for all including young children. Bangladesh, May 2015
Seasonal migramt workers extracting stones from the river bed during the dry season, Tamabil in Bangladesh, December 2015
Using the heat of the brick kiln to cook, Amin bazar kilns, Bangladesh, May 2015
Amin Bazar brick kilns are the main supplier site for the booming contractuction sector in Dhaka, and also the cause of extreme air pollution in the capital, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone carriers, Bholaganj along the Dholai river in Northern Bangladesh, December 2015
Subject of a frantic construction boom, Bangladesh is in acute shortage of sand and gravel for building purposes. The Himalayan rivers in the north of the country are being dug up during the dry season for their quality stones that will be crushed into gravel for the construction sector. Thousand of migrant workers converge to Tamabil and Bholaganj with their entire families to extract and carry stones by hand. This is the story of these women, children and men working relentlessly in extreme conditions. Extraction pumps spilling out water containing stones that are essential to supply the booming construction sector, Dholai river, Bangladesh, December 2015
Seasonal workers looking for small stones among the extracted riverbed sand, Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Brick kiln workers carrying heavy loads, Khulna brick kilns, Bangladesh, May 2015
Stone diggers, Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Seasonal migramt workers extracting stones from the river bed during the dry season, Tamabil in Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone diggers, Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Extraction pumps spilling out water containing stones that are essential to supply the booming construction sector, Dholai river, Bangladesh, December 2015
Brick kiln workers, Amin Bazar, Dhaka, December 2015
Makeshift dwelling of a seasonal stone digger, Goyain river bed in northern Bangladesh, December 2015
Women carrying stones, Jaflon, Bangladesh, December 2015
Children going to their makeshift shelters after a day in the riverstone extraction sites of Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Women carrying stones, Jaflon, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone crusher, Bholaganj, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone carriers under an extraction pump in the Dholai river in Bholaganj, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone diggers, Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stones being carried away to the crushing plant, Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone extraction site, Goyain river in Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stones being carried away to the crushing plant, Jaflong, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone carriers under an extraction pump in the Dholai river in Bholaganj, Bangladesh, December 2015
Extraction pumps spilling out water containing stones that are essential to supply the booming construction sector, Dholai river, Bangladesh, December 2015
Seasonal migramt workers extracting stones from the river bed during the dry season, Tamabil in Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone diggers, Bholaganj, Bangladesh, December 2015
Children collecting small residual stones behind the extraction pumps, Bholaganj, Bangladesh, December 2015
Diver fetching stones at a depth 4 to 8m in the Goyain river near Tamabil, Bangladesh, May 2016
Stone extraction site of Bholaganj on the Dholai river, Bangladesh, December 2015
Stone extraction plant on the Dholai river in Northern Bangladesh, May 2016.
