Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Reg No- 06
বাংলা
   
Saturday | 5 October 2024 | Epaper
BREAKING: ● Sailor dies after oil tanker catches fire in Ctg      ● Ex-president Badruddoza Chowdhury passes away      ● Killing during students' movement: 9 bodies to be exhumed in Sylhet      ● Malaysian prime minister leaves Dhaka for home      ● CA seeks Malaysian support for Bangladesh to be ASEAN dialogue partner      ● Malaysian PM assures of attention to 18,000 Bangladesh workers       ● Bid to kill Khaleda Zia: Sheikh Hasina among 113 sued      

Illegal brickfields threaten environment at Puthia

Published : Saturday, 17 February, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 182
Rafiqul Hasan Firoz
RAJSHAHI, Feb 16: Local environment and life are getting threatened due to tree cutting and wood burning in brickfields in Puthia Upazila of the district.

Locally powerful men have installed these brickfields without legal permission from the district administration. Settling-up of  brickfield also requires clearance certificate from the Department of Environment (DoE), brick-burning certificate and fire service certificate.
 
According to Brickfield Installation and Manufacturing Act-2013(Clause-6), if anybody burns wood in brickfield he will be given three-year jail, or fine of Tk 3 lakh, or both.

A recent visit to different areas in the upazila found 17 brickfields while wood burning was going on in Madina Bricks, Modern Bricks, and Super Bricks. Wood tree piles were seen around these kilns.   Emitted smoke from these kilns was spreading around. Polluted air and damaged croplands were seen in localities.

Local environment and biodiversity have been under threat.  

The visit found devastating soil-cutting in agriculture lands for supplying to brickfields in Shilmaria, Bhallukgachhi, and Belpukuria areas mostly.

Mainly kiln owners and residents of Mollapara area Hannan, Hasem, Latif and few other soil traders are alluring farmers in different ways to sell top soil of their agriculture lands. Local croplands are losing fertility with lifting the top soil.

According to brickfield sources, only four kilns in Puthia Upazila have licences. The remaining ones are running by managing the upazila administration and DoE and others. This managing work is carried out by President of Upazila Brickfield Owner Association Nasir Uddin Mandal and General Secretary (GS) Bellal Mandal.

GS Bellal Mandal recognised the illegally tree burning, and said, due to coal crisis, trees are burnt in all kilns. He said,  all owners have necessary papers.

The government will close wood-burning kilns, and that is why these papers are not renewed, he added.

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (Acting) and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Debashish Bosak said, "The matter of burning tree is not known to me. But necessary campaigns will be made in all kilns."

Inspector of DoE-Rajshahi Neel Ratan Sarkar said, "Very soon we will conduct drive against illegal brickfields. There is no scope for running brickfields illegally."



LATEST NEWS
MOST READ
Also read
Seven found dead in five districts
3,086 puja mandaps being set up in five districts
Unplanned RCC footover bridges turn useless 
26 nabbed with drugs in 12 districts 
RWASA plans to install meters to reduce system loss
Load-shedding hampers treatment in Kamalganj hospital 
T-Aman fields growing brightly at Amtali
Bithi becomes widow before first marriage anniversary! 
Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Online: 41053014; Advertisement: 41053012.
E-mail: info©dailyobserverbd.com, news©dailyobserverbd.com, advertisement©dailyobserverbd.com, For Online Edition: mailobserverbd©gmail.com
🔝