Around half of brick fields in Barisal division illegal

Owners of this brick kiln in Babuganj upazila of Barisal district resumed its illegal operation, shortly after officials of the Department of Environment fined them and issued order to stop its functioning in December last year.Photo: STAR

As many as 103 out of 245 brick fields in six districts of Barisal division have continued their illegal operation, ignoring several notices to take no-objection and clearance certificates from the Department of Environment (DoE) by installing modernised systems.
Using unsafe and outdated chimneys in defiance of environmental rules, they are causing air pollution and affecting soil fertility and plantations, said DoE officials.
Fifty-two out of 107 brick kilns in Barisal, four out of 25 in Jhalakathi, 21 out of 34 in Bhola, 10 out of 28 in Patuakhali, four out of 22 in Pirojpur and 12 out of 29 brick kilns in Barguna district of Barisal division are operating illegally, Barisal divisional DoE office sources said.
Twenty-five of the 103 legally operated brick kilns are using modernised chimneys.
They include one hybrid Hoffman chimney in Bhola, 14 Zig-Zag chimneys in Bhola, five in Barisal, three in Patuakhali and two in Barguna districts.
One hundred and seventeen other legal kilns have 120-foot-high chimneys.
Of the 103 illegal brick kilns, 65 are using 'band drum' chimneys and 38 others are using 120-foot-high but defective chimneys, Barisal DoE sources said, adding that .
The owners of the illegal brick kilns are conducting their business in sheer violation of the directives mentioned in the Brick Kiln Amendment Rule 2001, the DoE officials said.
As per directives of the rule, brick kilns should not be constructed around three kilometres of any human habitation, house, road and highway or crop field.
Besides, wood should not be used as fuel in a brick kiln.
Nazmul Haque, the DoE official in charge of Barisal division, said the office of the DoE deputy director in Barisal is running with only 11 officials and staffs to cover all types of environment issues in 40 upazilas under six districts of Barisal division without any transport facility.
An organogram for the Barisal DoE office with 32-strong manpower including a director, a magistrate and three inspectors was approved long ago but it is yet to be materialised, he said.
"Despite our limitations, the DoE special enforcement team is conducting drives. In December last year, they fined Tk 40 thousand each to Muna Bricks and SB Bricks in Barisal district, and Tk 30 thousand, Tk 20 thousand and Tk 10 thousand to RSF Bricks, Fatema Bricks and Anwar Bricks in Barguna district. The team also stopped operation of the brick kilns," he said.
Local sources, however, said the fined brick kilns again started their production shortly after departure of the DoE officials.
Eight other brick fields of Barisal division were given final notice on December 29 last year to stop their activities until installation of legally acceptable chimneys and obtaining clearance from the DoE, sources said.
Maniruzzaman Rubel, president of Barisal Brick Kiln Owners Association, said, "After paying due government tax and duties, many brick kiln owners sought trade licenses and clearance from the DoE. But the district administration is losing huge revenue due to non-issuance of any fresh license for running brick fields in Barisal on the plea of some legal constraints."