9 brick kilns fined for violating rules
A team of the Department of Environment seized equipment of Messers New United Bricks at Naodari in Phultala upazila of Khulna district and fined its owner, a local leader of Awami League, on Saturday last as the brick kiln, set up allegedly on grabbed lands, was running without any clearance certificate. Photo: STAR
Mobile courts in Faridpur, Jessore and Khulna fined at least nine brick kilns in the last one week for violating rules. A mobile court in separate drives in Faridpur realised Tk 1.25 lakh fine from five brick kilns in Kanaipur area of Sadar upazila on Tuesday. The five brick kilns are NRB Bricks, PBF Bricks, JB Bricks, HBF Bricks and ARM Bricks, reports UNB. Executive Magistrate Mostafizur Rahman led the mobile court along with fire servicemen and police. The court fined NRB Bicks Tk 20,000, PBF Bricks Tk 25,000, JB Bricks Tk 25,000, HBF Bricks Tk 30,000 and ARM Bricks Tk 25,000 for violating various rules including not having licenses, burning bricks with firewood and not using specified chimney. The court also lodged five cases against those brickfield owners. Later, fire servicemen destroyed drum chimneys and raw bricks of unlicensed brick kiln owners. In Jessore, environment officials seized 47 metric tonnes of firewood from three brick kilns on Monday. Mohammad Munir Chowdhury, director, monitoring and enforcement wing of the department seized the wood from Green Arrow Bricks, Five Star Bricks and Boss Bricks at Ramnagar of Khulna-Jessore highway. The wood was kept at those kilns to bake the bricks which is totally prohibited as per the existing laws. The seized woods were handed over to the local Department of Environment office, reports our correspondent. In Khulna, a large number of people, mostly from minority community, on Saturday demanded immediate arrest of Awami League (AL) leader Imam Hossain Morol and stern legal action against him for illegally operating a brick kiln on agricultural land, reports our staff correspondent. Imam Hossain Morol, senior vice president of Phultala upazila unit Awami League went into hiding after a team of the Department of Environment, headed by its director Mohammad Munir Chowdhury raided the illegal brick kiln on Saturday at Naodari village under Phultala upazila of Khulna district. The owner of the illegal brick kiln--Messrs United Bricks--was fined Tk 20 lakh. The brick kiln owner did not have requisite clearance certificate given by the environment department, said an environment department official. Coal, water pumps, machinery, a motorbike, baked bricks and unbaked mud bricks were seized during the drive. People of Naodari village had long been protesting the operation of the illegal brick kilns using drum chimney creating an adverse impact on environment and also affecting the Rabindra Complex at the adjacent Dakkhindihi village under the same upazila, said farmer Omar Ali Mahaldar. Dakkhindihi village is famous for having a building of father-in-law of nobel laurate poet Rabindra Nath Tagore. Farmer Omar Ali alleged that the AL leader grabbed his two acres of agricultural land giving no compensation but death threats. Villagers said the brick kiln owner had grabbed a total of 20 out of 25 acres of agricultural land of the people of Naodari village. The remaining five acres belong to him. According to police, the absconding Awami League leader was sued in six criminal cases with Phultala police station alone during the years of 2006 and 2007. President of Phultala upazila unit Awami League Abdus Salam, when contacted, admitted to various criminal activities committed by Imam Hossain.
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