Brick kiln set up near Sakhipur forest fined

The Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined Tk 5 lakh to SRF Brick Kiln at Baheratoil in Sakhipur upazila under the district as it was operating illegally adjacent to Sakhipur reserve forest.
Mohammad Munir Chowdhury, director (Enforcement) of DoE, also ordered complete closure of the brick kiln to save the forest, local biodiversity and human health.
The action against the brick kiln has been under Environment Preservation Act 1995 (Amended-2010).
Owner of the brick kiln Farid Hossain pledged to remove all the structures of the brick kiln immediately and the DoE officials warned of tougher action in case of failure on the promise.
The DoE also asked its Tangail office to send lists of all illegal brick kilns in the district.
The Daily Star on March 6 ran a story on the illegal brick kiln and the DoE on the same day directed an inquiry into the matter.
Consequently, the Tangail office of the DoE conducted an inquiry and submitted report mentioning that the brick kiln did not have any clearance from the department to burn bricks.
The report also mentioned that the brick kiln was set up only 775 metres from the government reserve forest and 75 metres from a private owned forest although existing laws do not allow it.