Decade-old brick kilns inside reserve forest demolished in Chattogram

Two brick kilns that were built inside the coastal reserve forest at Uttar Kattoli along the Bay of Bengal were knocked down by a joint operation yesterday.

Officials from the Forest Department, Department of Environment (DoE) and Chattogram district administration, along with police, Rab, and Fire Service personnel, took part in the drive to demolish the kilns. The drive also destroyed thousands of earthen bricks stocked at the kilns.

The kilns -- KLM and MRS -- were operational since 2008. "Despite their illegal status, they kept running as their owner used to secure stay orders from court," said Golam Mawla, divisional forest officer of Coastal Forest Division, Chattogram.

In addition, the drive also pulled down a third kiln -- the Abdus Sobhan Brick Kiln -- adjacent to Link Road at Sitakunda upazila.

Mohammad Moazzom Hossain, director of DoE Chattogram region told The Daily Star, "The three kilns had been operating illegally as they did not secure any clearance from DoE."

They were also cutting hills to feed the kilns and polluting the air due to not setting up environment-friendly mechanisms," the officialsaid.

Mohammad Nurullah Nuri, director of DoE Chattogram metro, told The Daily Star they will continue to clamp down on such illegal structures in order to enforce environmental compliance.