Pre-monsoon Brick Production

Picture: Brick kilns around Turag river, Ashulia, Dhaka, Bangladesh. April 2011

The brick industry is on the rise around Dhaka city, with several hundred brick kilns producing millions of bricks for development. Despite governmental rules and regulations, these industry owners continue to use environmentally harmful fuels such as used tires, plastic, and used oil, leading to severe environmental pollution. Additionally, these brick kilns contribute to deforestation, as trees from homesteads and roadsides are indiscriminately cut down to meet the industry's demands. A lack of effective monitoring allows kiln owners to encroach on land, including areas near rivers like Turag and Buriganga. The bricks, made from soil, utilize tons of sediments brought by the Turag River each year from larger rivers like Brahmaputra, Meghna, and Buriganga, resulting in further environmental impact. It is crucial for concerned departments to strengthen their monitoring systems and promptly enforce laws to prevent a hazardous future.