Brick kiln near schools

An influential quarter is constructing a brick kiln in a residential area of Netrakona's Kalmakanda upazila, denying the people's objections.

If the brickfield is built in Dhitpur village, the all-out nature-friendly environment will be destroyed and it will pose health risk to students and teachers of two adjacent schools-- Dhitpur Government Primary School and Dhitpur High School-- and local people as well, said some ex-students of the schools.

Locals said Monmohan Nandi donated 32-decimal of land to establish Dhitpur Government Primary School in 1939. Later, his nephew late Ranjit Kumar Nandi donated some 150-decimal of land to establish Dhitpur High School in 1991.

Saiful Islam Talukder and his young brother Abdul Awal Talukder of adjacent Shonoi village are jointly constructing the brickfield on some 150-decimal of cropland at Dhitpur village, some 70-metre away from the schools. They took lease of the land from one Quaide Azam of the village.

There are some 700 students in the schools. There are also three temples, a mosque and a Qaumi madrasa within 100 to 150-metre of the brick kiln, said a teacher preferring not to be named.

The small village is hugely populated. As most of the people are poor here, the influential persons selected the area for their business.

Mohammad Mainuddin, president of Dhitpur Primary School's managing committee, said they asked the owners not to construct the brick kiln but they did not bother. Mainuddin is also president of Jubo League Pogla union unit.

"If the brick kiln goes into operation, it will bring a disastrous effect on the ecology of the locality. So, the authorities concerned should take necessary steps in this regard immediately", said Md Rukun Uddin Biswas, headmaster of Dhitpur High School.

Saiful Islam Talukder, one of the owners, said they have taken permission from administration and the Department of Environment (DoE) as well to build the brick kiln.

Chanchal Chowdhury, manager of the brickfield, said the kiln will go into operation in December this year.

Chairman of Pogla union parishad Md Rafiqul Islam said the brick kiln owners met him for trade license on several occasions and when he asked them to show valid papers but they did not show it. 

Contacted, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Sohel Rana said he did not know anything about permission of building the brick kiln.

Farid Ahmed, director of DoE in Mymensingh, said there is no scope to construct a brick kiln within one kilometre of educational institutions or farmland.

They will visit the spot soon to take next course of action, he said.