Khagrachari Correspondent: The administration has closed 15 brick kilns in various upazilas of Khagrachari. The drive was carried out in Sadar Upazila, Dighinala, Panchhari, Ramgarh, Manikchhari, and Guimara on Monday morning. The concerned Upazila Executive Officer and Assistant Commissioner (Land) led the drive.
Confirming the matter, Additional District Magistrate Hasan Maruf of Khagrachari District Administration said that 15 brick kilns were fined about Tk 8.5 lakh during the drive. Of these, 3 brick kilns in Sadar Upazila, 2 in Dighinala, 2 in Panchhari, and 4 in Ramgarh, and 4 in Guimara and Manikchhari have been declared closed.
Sadar Upazila Executive Officer Sujan Chandra Roy said that 3 kilns, including Selim & Brothers, were being operated illegally without permission. On the instructions of the district administration, a mobile court was conducted to stop the illegal kilns. At that time, a fine of 1.5 lakh taka was imposed as per the Brick Manufacturing and Kiln Establishment Control Act, 2013, and was collected immediately. Later, the fire service came and extinguished the fire with water. Khagrachari Brick Kiln Owners Association Coordinator Md. Selim said, We have not yet received the official stay order from the High Court, but if we get it, we will be able to run the brick kiln. Even after making the brick kiln environmentally friendly, we are not getting the clearance from the Department of Environment. We want to operate the kilns with licenses. In the meantime, we have invested 2.5 crore taka in each kiln.
Deputy Commissioner Md. Sahiduzzaman said a drive has been started to stop the illegal kilns as per the instructions of Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Advisor to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. All illegal kilns will be closed.
