Ishwardi correspondent: The mobile court collected a fine of two and a half lakh rupees from six illegal brick kilns in Pabna Ishwardi for the crime of environmental pollution. Executive Magistrate and Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) TM Rahsin Kabir conducted the operation in some villages of Lakshikunda Union on Saturday (December 10).
The fined brick kilns are – Kaikunda of Lakshmikunda Union of the upazila, M/s AAA Bricks, M/s Padma Bricks, M/s Ekta Bricks, M/s NSTP Bricks, M/s Bither Bricks and M/s ASB Bricks of Bilkeda area.
Executive Magistrate TM Rahsin Kabir said that six brick kiln owners were fined Tk 2.5 lakh for illegally operating unlicensed brick kilns and polluting the environment as per Bangladesh Environment Protection Act 2013.
At that time the police members of Ishwardi police station were present.
Chairman of Lakshikunda Union Parishad Anisur Rahman Sharif said that 52 illegal brick kilns have been built in Ishwardi’s Lakshmikunda Union. About 12 km away from Ishwardi city, three villages of Kamalpur, Dadapur and Bilkeda of this union on the banks of remote Padma river have built these brick kilns on agricultural land in defiance of the government ban. Wood chalk is used instead of coal as fuel in kilns. Due to this, trees are being killed freely in the area. Most of the kiln owners illegally collect soil from padma pasture land for making bricks. There are 50 auto fees and two zigzag (wind) kilns.
He said that these kiln trade licenses were initially taken from the Union Parishad, but now they are not renewed. At present, there is no trade license or clearance from the Union Parishad for these factories.
