Govt to shut down all harmful brick kilns
All brick kilns, harmful to the environment, will be closed down by 2025, said Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin yesterday.
The minister made the remark at the opening ceremony of a environment-friendly block brick (eco-brick) factory in Bagherkhal area of Sylhet’s Jaintiapur upazila in the afternoon.
He said, “The government will shut down all harmful brick kilns by 2025. Brick kilns are destroying topsoil of farmland, causing serious damage to the environment. People should try to use environment-friendly brick.”
Shahab Uddin, also the parliamentarian from Moulvibazar-1 constituency, said, “All existing brick kilns must follow rules while producing bricks.”
The minister also urged people to work with the administration to stop illegal stone extraction and hillock cutting in Sylhet.
The programme was presided over by the industry’s founder and CEO Mitu Talukder while Department of Environment (DoE) Director General Dr AKM Rafique, DoE Sylhet divisional Director Israt Jahan Panna were present, among others.
‘SHUN BURNT BRICKS TO SAVE TOPSOIL’
According to experts, the country must immediately start using environment-friendly alternative hollow blocks instead of conventional bricks to save its fertile topsoil and conserve environment.
Turning to alternatives like compressed, hollow, and thermal blocks is crucial in ensuring food security and sustainable development, they said.
The conventional brick manufactured by burning coal and ruining invaluable topsoil has a devastating effect on agricultural production and achieving sustainable development, said Mohammad Abu Sadeque, immediate past director of Housing and Building Research Institute.
“An estimated 25 billion pieces of conventional bricks are manufactured in the country every year by damaging 100 million tonnes of topsoil,” he said.
TOP AIR POLLUTER
According to the DoE, brick kilns are the top air polluter in major cities in the country, particularly during dry season when most bricks are made, turning the air quality of these places “severely unhealthy”.
Continued exposure to poor quality air can cause heart diseases, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and respiratory infections, including pneumonia. It could also cause stroke, according to the WHO.
The UN health body estimates 37,000 Bangladeshis die due to air pollution every year, the average age of the victims being just 38 years.
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