106 brick kilns in Kurigram, Lalmonirhat flout rules

Only 38 brick kilns out of 144 in Lalmonirhat and Kurigram have legal approval from the Department of Environment (DoE). These 106 brick kilns have been operating illegally for years. The topsoil of the farmlands is being ruined for manufacturing bricks in the kilns.

Mezbah-Ul Alam, deputy director (DD) of DoE in Rangpur, said 21 out of 48 brick kilns in Lalmonirhat district have legal approvals but the remaining 27 are being operated illegally. Of the 96 brickfields in Kurigram, only 17 have legal approval but the remaining 79 have no approval.

Illegal brickfields have been built on farmlands in violation of environmental laws, he said.

Nahid Hasan, an environmental activist from Kurigram, said illegal brickfields are causing severe damage to the environment. All the kilns are manufacturing bricks using the topsoil of the cropland. Each brick kiln is using topsoil of 10-15 bighas of fertile cropland every year to manufacture bricks.

He added that each brick field collects topsoil from 10 to15 bighas of cropland. Due to this, the land is losing its fertility every year.

Shamim Ashraf, deputy director of DAE in Lalmonirhat, said topsoil is the upper, usually up to eight inches. It is fertile, which is called the lifeblood of the soil. The brick kiln owners use the topsoil of the cropland to manufacture bricks.

As a result, the soil lost its fertility and due to this, it is failed to produce the expected crops for 12 to 15 years, he said adding, that even though there is a law to get permission from the DoE before constructing a brickfield on agricultural land, it is not being complied with.

They will take action in this regard if any farmer files a complaint against the brickfields, Shamim added.

Abdul Mazid, 67, a farmer from Dhairkhata village in Kulaghat union of Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, alleged that the farmers have become hostage to these brick kiln owners.

"We cannot stand against the brick kiln owners as they are politically and economically influential. We are silently enduring their torture," he added.

Sahidar Rahman, 60, a farmer from Char Rajibpur in Rajibpur upazila of Kurigram, said no action is being taken against the brick kilns which have been running its operation illegally for years. Their crops are being damaged every year due to construction of the illegal brickfields.

Mezbah-Ul Alam, deputy director of DoE in Rangpur, said the department has been conducting a crackdown against illegally constructed brickfields in collaboration with the local administration.