UNO foils attempt to build illegal brick kiln

Indurkani upazila administration recently halted the construction of an illegal brick kiln on 30 bighas of agricultural land in Kalaran village.

The move came on February 25, about a week after one Kabir Hossain, from Morrelganj upazila of Bagerhat, started to build the kiln on agricultural land that he had leased from a landowner named Shamim Howlader.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer Hossain Mohammad Al-Muzahid said no brick kiln would be allowed in the area without necessary licence from appropriate authorities. 

"I ordered the farmland to be reinstated to its previous state within one month." Otherwise, legal steps will be taken against the offenders, he also said.

The owner of the brick kiln violated several provisions of the 'Brick Making and Kiln Establishment (Control) Act 2013', as he started constructing the establishment on agricultural land and did not obtain the mandatory licence from the deputy commissioner of Pirojpur.      

Residents of Kalaran village said agriculture is the mainstay of livelihood in the village where they harvest rice three times a year and grow varieties of other crops in between the harvests.

Fearing that a larger area around the kiln would be encroached on once the owner succeeded in setting up the kiln, the villagers said Shamim Howlader of the village leased out his land to the brick kiln owner for an annual payment of Tk 20,000 for each bigha.

Farmer Abdul Jalil Jomadder said if the brick kiln is built in the village, they would count huge losses, as smoke from the brick kiln would damage crops on surrounding croplands.

While visiting the site, in the middle of fields full of different crops, a good amount of crops were found damaged due to excavation of earth for the construction of the kiln.

Ahadul Islam Shimul, a local and a journalist by profession, said the villagers have been opposing the brick kiln because "if it's built here, it will not only affect the agriculture, but will also destroy the local ecology."

However, endorsing the construction, Shahjahan Howlader, a member of the local union parishad, said bricks are needed for infrastructural development and a brick kiln is needed for that reason in his ward. 

Contacted, Shamim Howlader, the landowner, claimed that the land hardly produced any crop. Besides, job opportunity for locals would be created if the kiln was allowed there. 

Brick kiln owner Kabir Hossain could not be reached for his comments despite repeated calls made on his cell phone by this correspondent.