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The Department of Environment (DoE) has shut down 462 brick kilns in anti-pollution mobile drives across the country since January this year and fined nearly Tk 200 million.
The DoE conducted those drives from January 2 to March 9. A total of 598 mobile court operations were also carried out.
According to the department, the targets of the drives were: vehicles emitting excessive black smoke, illegal polluting brick kilns, steel mills, noise pollution, hazardous waste disposal, lead/battery recycling factories, wetland encroachment, tire pyrolysis plants, charcoal factories, and air pollution caused by construction materials left in open spaces.
During these operations, 1,363 cases were filed and fines amounting to Tk 197.9 million were collected. Additionally, 305 brick kiln chimneys were demolished, completely shutting down their operations. Orders were issued to close 157 more brick kilns, while 60 kilns had their raw bricks destroyed. Six trucks of lead and battery smelting equipment were seized from five factories, which were subsequently shut down.
On March 9, four mobile court drives were conducted in Dhaka's Hatirjheel, Moghbazar, Adabor, Aftabnagar, Badda, and Dhanmondi areas under the Air Pollution Control Rules 2022. These drives led to 11 cases, with fines amounting to Tk 60,000.
On the same day, a mobile court drive was conducted in Narayanganj against a ready-mix factory under the Solid Waste Management Rules 2021. Three cases were filed, and a fine of Tk 50,000 was collected.
Additionally, 20 mobile court drives were conducted across Panchagarh, Kurigram, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Jhenaidah, Bhola, Sirajganj, Meherpur, Moulvibazar, Pirojpur, Gaibandha, Shariatpur, Barguna, Thakurgaon, Bogura, and Sherpur districts.
These drives resulted in 19 cases.
Twenty-two brick kilns were demolished and raw bricks were destroyed, shutting operations of the kilns completely.
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