Unlicensed brick kiln in densely populated area
Firewood is piled up on the premises of this unlicensed brick kiln just beside a densely populated area of East Auliapur village in Patuakhali Sadar upazila. Photo: STAR
The chairman of Auliapur Union Parishad in Patuakhali Sadar upazila has set up a brick kiln occupying over 0.50 acres of khas land in a densely populated area at East Auliapur village under the upazila without permission from the authorities concerned. Owner of the illegal brick kiln, Humayun Kabir is also joint general secretary of Patuakhali Sadar upazila unit of ruling Awami League. The kiln area is located beside Sehakathi canal adjacent to Kabir's village house. According to Section 4(1) of the Brick Burning (Control) Act, 1989, nobody can set up brickfield or burn bricks without taking licence. The same act prohibits setting up of brickfield in densely populated areas and using wood as fuel for baking bricks. Ignoring the law, Humayun Kabir set up a brickfield on the khas land. However, he submitted a prayer seeking licence to the deputy commissioner (DC) in Patuakhali in June last year. “Humayun Kabir submitted his prayer for setting up a brickfield in his area without any 'No objection certificate' from the Department of Environment. So the DC office is yet to issue the licence,” said Najir of DC office Ashraf Hossain, who also maintains the file at the office. During a visit to the brickfield, this correspondent saw pile of wood that was kept on the premises for use as fuel to bake bricks. The brickfield started in December last year and at least 80,000 bricks have already been sold from it, said a worker of the field seeking anonymity. Asked about the matter, Patuakhali Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Zakir Hossain said he does not know about it. When contacted, Patuakhali DC Mohammad Eusuf said, “We consider the prayer for setting up a brick field only after receiving certificate from the Department of Environment.” “We have not issued environmental certificate to Humayun Kabir till now. His prayer is pending and we will consider the matter after proper investigation,” said Asadul Haque, deputy director of the Department of Environment in Barisal. “Nobody can start brick production without permission. We will take step with the help of mobile court soon,” he added. When contacted, Humayun Kabir, owner of the brickfield, said, “I submitted necessary papers to the DC office seeking permission. I also submitted papers seeking 'no objection' certificate from the environment department in Barisal.
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