BSTI sues 105 brick kiln owners

Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI)  has filed cases against 105 brick kiln owners in the past three months in Rangpur division for manufacturing bricks below the standard size of 10x5x3 inches.

Each year, brick kilns produce 40 to 75 lakh bricks, but customers and contractors are being duped with smaller bricks sold at Tk 12,000 per thousand.

A resident, Nur Jamal from Kurigram town, said, "The work which needed 1,000 bricks years ago now requires at least 1,100 bricks."

Echoing the same, contractor Alamgir Hossain of Rangpur explained expenses increase manifold due to smaller bricks.

Meanwhile, Saher Ali, a kiln worker in Kurigram, said they have no alternatives but to  follow the owners' instructions in this regard.

Kiln owner Mozammel Haque, however claimed they comply with government regulations. But he didn't rule out irregularities from a 'section of Klin owners'.

Deputy Director of Rangpur Divisional BSTI, Mafiz Uddin Ahmed, said, "We have sent letters to all for implying with the manufacture of standard-sized bricks."