Production at more than 100 brick kilns in Natore district has been at standstill for the past four months as the kilns are running low on their stock of coal, resulted by India's tighter monitoring of coal supply to Bangladesh as well as a price hike of nearly 140%.
Owners of the brick kilns said the Indian authorities now strictly regulates coal supply across the border, setting up scales near the border entrances to measure the coal before allowing the coal-carrying trucks to enter Bangladesh, aiming to prevent excess supply. Before, truckloads of coal were simply allowed to cross over to Bangladesh and weighed here.
Owners now have heaps of clay bricks in their fields prepared to be fired, but they are unable to do so without coal, facing huge loss.
Mizanur Rahman Milton, general secretary of Natore Brick Manufacturers' Association, said: “Around 90% of the brick kilns in Natore depend on the coal imported from India. India's strict monitoring over coal supply has naturally stemmed the previous inflow.
“Moreover, this year, they have increased the coal price to Tk22,000 per tonne, as oppose to Tk9,000 last year. The overprice and the insufficient supply has put us in big trouble.”
Turning to the local source did not prove to be effective either. “We applied to the authorities of Boropukuria in Dinajpur, the sole coal pit in the country, but they did not respond as we had expected,” Milton said. “Only a handful us were delivered with coal from Boropukuria, which amounts to roughly 20% of the total coal we all need.
“They have increased the price as well – Tk13,700 per tonne, whereas it was Tk9,200 last year. Also, they are selling coal mixed with water to increase its weight, causing us further loss of around Tk3,000-4,000 per tonne.”
Alhaj Shariful Islam Ramzan, president of the association, said: “Only 25% of the kilns have been able to fire bricks so far. But they have failed to make satisfactory sale as the increased price of coal has caused them to raise the price of bricks too, in order to cover the cost. The present rate stands at Tk9,000-9,500 per 1,000 blocks of brick, which was Tk6,000-6,500 last year. Naturally, the sale has declined substantially.
“But the rest of us have not been able to produce any bricks at all. We all collectively invested around Tk300 crore in brick fields this season, but now we are counting heavy loss every day. We are not exempted from paying taxes either.”
The kiln owners are not the sole sufferers; the lack of coal has put around 30,000-40,000 kiln labourer out of job in Natore.
Sources at the manufacturers' association said there are more than 100 brick kilns all over Natore, and each has at least 300 workers. Since most kilns are shut down, these workers have no job. Because of the nationwide non-stop blockade, they cannot seek out other options to earn livelihood as well. As a result, thousands of kiln workers and their families are passing their days in half or full starvation.
The owners said the government must step in and find an alternative way for the brick manufacturers to survive the loss they are facing. “Otherwise, we will have to launch a tough movement for our own welfare,” they said.
