After the end of the monsoon last year, some traders started excavating large pits on the riverside croplands of Chandulia village in Mirzapur. Each of the pits was five to ten feet deep, and the huge amounts of soil dug up from them were being sent to brick kilns, leaving the adjoining lands vulnerable to erosion and affecting their fertility.

The villagers who themselves sold the earth to the traders only knew about the consequences this monsoon, when they found that top soil from nearby croplands was being washed down into the nearby Louhajang River.

This year the earth traders started doing the same around one month back after buying top soil from the land owners, but villagers are worried that such indiscriminate excavations may expose their land to further threats of erosion.

The villagers, however, do not dare speak out against the traders because the "traders have political influence."

A farmer of the village, Abdul Latif, said he cultivated mustard on 106 decimals and jackfruit on 46 decimals of the riverside land. These lands are facing the threat of erosion as traders are digging nearby, he said.

Another resident, Azim Uddin, has already become a victim of last year's excavations -- earth from his land was eroded away due to the nearby pits. So, this year, he sold soil from 13 decimals of his land to the traders.

Abdul Latif, the operator of an excavator deployed at the spot, said trader Alhaj Shikder of neighbouring Deohata village, along with his two relatives, was digging up the top soil and selling it to brick kilns. Shikder rented the excavator and eight trucks from a local brick kiln owner, he added.

When asked, Alhaj Shikder said they bought the earth because the land owners sold it to them. He buys the soil of each decimal of land at Tk 10,000 to Tk 15,000.

Momin Miah, a truck driver, said he transported 12 to 15 trucks of earth to local brick kilns every day on an average, each truck carrying 200 cubic feet of soil. According to truck drivers and villagers, 100 to 120 truckloads are being dug up from the area every day.

Although there is no guideline from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) on whether it was illegal to sell top soil of farmland, an agricultural officer said removal of the top layer of soil was harmful for the land.

"It destroys organic matter of the land, hence its fertility," said Abu Adnan, additional deputy director of DAE in Tangail.

The official also cited a survey of an NGO, which revealed that top soil of around 17 percent of all agricultural land in the country had been removed and sold to brick kilns.

This is happening when agricultural land is shrinking fast in Bangladesh.

Quoting the Planning Commission, a 2013 report of The Daily Star says cropland is decreasing by one percent every year.

Researchers say per capita agricultural land has come down to only 12 decimals in 2009 from 42 decimals in 1961 in the country. In neighbouring India, per capita cropland is 32 decimals, while it is 2,718 decimals (11 hectare) in developed countries.

Researchers also predict that per capita cropland in Bangladesh would go down below 6 decimals by 2050 if the trend continues, according to the report.

While the indiscriminate digging is damaging the local landscape, the regular movement of the trucks has left the 2km local road from Chandulia to Deohata battered, is generating a huge amount of dust, and is creating the likelihood of accidents.

Local fertiliser trader Jahidul Islam said several thousand people including students of four primary and three high schools of at least 15 villages use the road, and the regular plying of the earth-laden trucks was putting their lives at risk.

In addition, the roadside houses and trees are being covered with dust, and local people are getting affected by respiratory diseases, he added.

Talking to The Daily Star, farmer Abdul Latif said he along with some other people had already complained to the local administration and public representatives in this regard, but nothing was done to stop the digging in the village.

Contacted, Mirzapur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Israt Sadmin said they would not tolerate such excavations on the river bank and croplands. Legal steps will be taken after an investigation into the matter, she added.

Meanwhile, Abdul Jalil, sub-assistant engineer of Local Government and Engineering Department (LGED) in Mirzapur, said trucks weighing about 5 to 10 tonnes could move on the rural road, but the weight of earth-laden trucks well exceeded the limit.

He also said they would take necessary steps to stop the movement of earth-laden trucks on the rural road after talking to higher officials.