A mobile court of the Department of Environment (DoE) in a drive on Tuesday tore down one illegal brick kiln and collected Tk1.25 crore in fines from owners of 25 establishments for not complying with the environment conservation law in Narayanganj’s Fatullah.
Assisted by the Rapid Action Battalion, police, and Fire Service, DoE Executive Magistrate Kazi Tamzid Ahmed led the mobile court that conducted the drive in the Fatullah police station area of the Sadar upazila from 12pm to 3pm.
Kazi Tamzid Ahmed said: “Due to environmental degradation and non-approval, a chimney has been broken down. Besides, 25 more kilns in the area have been fined Tk1.25 crore for not having any licence to operate, or any environmental clearance certificate from the DoE.”
“In phases, the campaign against all illegal brick kilns will be executed,” he added.
Nayan Mia, acting deputy director of DoE in Narayanganj, said: “Only 30 to 35 brick kilns of Narayanganj bricks have been complied with. 128 brick kilns have writ petitions filed in the court. Besides, the rest of the brick fields are deemed illegal.”
He said that these brickfields are at the root of the air pollution in Narayanganj.
The DoE installed equipment at 11 places in the eight cities to collect daily data to prepare the Air Quality Index (AQI), which gave a score between zero and 500, zero being the best.
The equipment collected various data, including airborne particles, Sulfur Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, and Nitrogen Oxides, all of which are harmful for health.
In 2018, Narayanganj had 105 days with its AQI over 301 (severely unhealthy). Dhaka had such air on 83 days, Gazipur 72 days, Rajshahi 45 days, Khulna 39 days, Chittagong 13 days, Barisal 9 days, and Sylhet 8 days, the survey report said.
On January 20 this year, Narayanganj scored 475, Gazipur 400, Dhaka 382, Chittagong 361, Rajshahi 356, and Barisal 335.