Among the environmental hazards, under the spotlight in the backdrop of climate change-centred concerns, brick kilns make for an issue that is perhaps the least attended to. There is no reason why this should be on the periphery of national consciousness. Brick manufacturing plants stuck with primitive technologies are a major source of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. It would have been a statistical nightmare if the quantum of carbonization of the air through brick kilns was measured and made known.
But we cannot bury our head in the sand to ignore or downplay the dangers any longer, especially when technologies are available to obviate the risk factors. The modern brick manufacturing technologies have three advantages: first, these will minimize air pollution; secondly, help save Tk1120cr annually in fuel cost; and thirdly, these would ensure quality production of bricks.
True, the Department of Environment(DoE) has been organizing seminars to motivate the brick kiln owners to introduce new technologies but the response from the industry appears to have been lukewarm. There are reasons for their taciturn reaction. For, after years of dillydally and lack of determined government monitoring and policy actions, the issue is burdened by a huge backlog of default. It is now a case of mounting pressure being exerted on the owners to comply with a government circular issued last September to introduce environment-friendly technologies in two years' time. The deadline seems stiff but not impossible to comply with.
The owners are accusing the authorities of frequently changing technologies for burning bricks. In the first place, there was the requirement of 120ft chimney, then comes the insistence on Zig Zag Kiln, Hybrid Hoffman Kiln or Vertical Shaft Kiln systems. These require huge investments. For all we know, favourable response could be received from multilateral agencies and some of our development partners to assist us in introducing the new technologies. For its part, the government should think of bank lending to brick kiln operators. Furthermore, the brick manufacturers should be obliged to largely invest for the change-over given the advantages to accrue from it, in addition to the galloping demands for bricks in the construction sectors.