Brick kilns' swoop on the 'chars'

The encroachment of illegal brick kilns on croplands in the country has lately taken an alarming turn. Until recent years, the practice of setting up of smoke-spewing kilns remained confined to the peripheries of paddy or jute fields. It sparked protest from the very beginning organised by the rural environmental activists. In fear of reprisals from the kiln owners, helpless farmers and villagers endured the wide-scale rural pollution, low yield of crops etc in silence. The problem lay not only with the degradation of the vast rural landscape. A section of brick kiln owners engaged their men to tempt the worse-off farmers into selling their farmlands' topsoil. It's the basic material required for making bricks conventionally.

In the face of the strong intervention of the local environmental authorities, the brick kiln owners have now turned to the mid-river 'chars'. These land masses surrounded by rivers have long been used to grow various types of agro-products. Those include certain types of paddy, wheat, vegetables and unconventional crops. A noticeably weird look featuring the views of a 'char' now comprises scattered chimneys belching out black smoke against the normally blue skyline. This atrocious view hasn't escaped the notice of the officials of Department of Environment (DoE). They appear to be helpless. In the face of the combined strength of the syndicates formed by illegal brick kiln owners and grabbing of the 'chars' one after another, the department concerned seems too weak to face them. Meanwhile, a High Court order has lately prohibited the setting up of brick kilns illegally in any part of the country. Apparently to dodge the order, a large number of unscrupulous brick manufacturers turned to the pristine shoals or 'chars'. In the last few years, the rampant activities of the highly polluting kilns have played havoc with the environment of mid-river sandy 'chars'.

Besides humans, a large area falling victim to brick kiln pollution is that of major crops grown on the 'char' soil. Thanks to the 'char' farmers not being seasoned with the special type of cropping on the shoals, the farmlands are already viewed as being vulnerable to seasonal adversities. In this situation, the brick fields' reckless tampering with the environment, especially the shoals' air and cropping quality, has already begun spelling doom for the farmers, mostly marginal. Apart from the narrow shoal strips, almost all the mid-river 'chars' have proved ideal for growing both major and newly practised crops. Apart from paddy and wheat, these agricultural plots have now become used to newly innovated vegetables.

The farmers settled on the chars of the large rivers such as the Jamuna, the Padma and a few others across the country have long been enjoying high yields of crops. They used to be happy with their harvests. With the mushrooming of brick kilns on these 'chars', the farmers' dream of uninterrupted yields is going haywire. Besides damages done to the young plants and mature crops, the brick kiln toxicity continues to leave a highly deleterious impact on the farmers' physical wellbeing.

Not long ago, it was delightful to see the remarkable changes in the lot of farmers involved in agro-production. Given the fast increase in the number of brick kilns on these 'chars', these happy days and the future prospects for better times appear to be a mirage. But in the beginning, the 'char'-based farmers would nurture great dreams of becoming self-reliant and prosperous by being involved in this unconventional farming. Surveys put the number of these 'char'-dwelling and poverty-free farming families at more than 15,000. They were happy to detect glimpses of economic solvency coming from the once-barren fields. To their misfortune, they are being shoved into their earlier days' indigence and, in cases, marginalisation. Even after shifting to the remote 'chars' nightmares continue to hound them. The illegal brick kiln owners may have to shoulder a large part of responsibility for the 'char'-based farmers' declining state.

To realise the ubiquitous nature of the brick kilns, one can turn to Netrakona district, among others. It stands out with its nearly unregulated rise in the number of its illegal kilns. A total of 51 traditional brick factories are now in operation in the district. Of them, seven are approved by the Department of Environment (DoE). They have clearance certificates issued by the department. The rest 44 continue to operate their activities in their dubious style. Of them many have set up their factories beside farmlands in the rural areas. Almost all districts in the country present a similar picture, with the majority of the kilns near farmlands operating without DoE approval. But there are clear legal bars to the setting up of brick factories without government approval.

According to the Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kilns Establishment (Control) Act, 2013, brickfields cannot be constructed within a certain distance from educational institutions, residential, business or protected areas. The establishments also include city corporations, municipality or upazila headquarters, public or private forests, railway tracks, hospitals, environmental sanctuaries, gardens or wetlands, agricultural land or areas with high air pollution.

Many people promoting unhindered agricultural activities across the country weigh in. They pose pertinent questions. They view the situation against the backdrop of the apparently strict regulations in force. It results in their curiosity to know how a section of brick field owners can manage to occupy plots on the 'chars' and go on producing bricks using ecologically hostile furnace with chimneys. Whatever the answer is, the authorities should ferret out the persons responsible for the harmful activities of their brick kilns. The onus primarily lies with the DoE.

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