Speakers at a workshop on Monday in Rajshahi stressed the need for implementing existing law and policies concerning brick fields to tackle environmental pollution in the country.
They blamed the government for not enforcing the Brick Cerement (control) Law 1989 and Brick Cerement (control) principles 1989 to protect the environment and its elements, namely air, water and soil.
They also criticised the lack of proper government policy that encouraged the entrepreneurs to ignore environmental considerations while setting up brick kilns.
The speakers were addressing a daylong workshop on ‘introducing environment friendly modern technology in brickfields’ organised by Rajshahi divisional office of Environment Department at the Rajshahi district administration auditorium on Monday.
The speakers termed the brick kilns as one of the main reasons behind air pollution in the country.
The ashes and smoke from kilns spread over adjacent areas as wind
blew slowly in winter, they said.
They also considered kiln smoke deadly for trees and plants as the smoke containing carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and fluorine that blocked the photosynthesis of the trees.
Experts at the workshop said at present there are 4510 brick kilns in Bangladesh and among them only 1199 have environmental certificate to run those and a total of 3311 kilns run their production without approval.
There are 912 brick kilns in Rajshahi division and among them 74 have no environmental certificate.
Rajshahi divisional environment department director Nazmul Haque presided over the workshop while environment department director general Monowar Islam addressed the programme among others.
250 brick kiln owners from different districts of Rajshahi division also took part in the workshop.
The brick kiln owners, at the end of the workshop, boycotted the programme following a row over giving them opportunity to present their views and situations.
Rajshahi Brickfield Owners’ Association general secretary Sadrul Islam told New Age that they boycotted the workshop as the organisers did not allow them to take the floor.
