Govt to shut down all illegal brick kilns

BSS, SANGSAD BHABAN: Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Shahab Uddin today said the government already will gradually shut down all illegal brick kilns in an attempt to control the air pollution in the country.

“The government already has shut down nearly 600 illegal brick kilns across the country and all such illegal brick kilns would be closed down in phases,” he said while responding to a starred question made by Workers Party lawmaker Begum Lutfun Nesa Khan of women’s seat -48 in the House here.

In addition to this, the government has issued a gazette notification with a mandatory instruction for using 100 percent block for all sorts of public construction by 2025 according to the Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kilns Establishment (Control) Act, 2013.

The main objective of the act is to bring down the traditional fired brick manufacturing using clay to zero level by 2025, he added. Subsequently, the government plans to make the use of block mandatory for the private sector.

Bangladesh is the fourth largest producer and consumer of bricks in Asia after China, India, Pakistan and Vietnam, according to various industry studies.

There are more than 6000 traditional brick kilns which cater for 99 per cent of the 17 billion pieces of the country’s annual brick requirement. In the process, the kilns emit large quantities of environmental pollutants into the atmosphere causing harmful impact on agricultural yields, climate and health.

Terming the air pollution as a cross-cutting issue, the minister said the government has already taken short, medium and long term plans incorporating all the concerned ministries, divisions and agencies.