Illegal brick kiln on Karnaphuli riverbank fined Tk 50,000, construction halted

A mobile court has fined an under-construction brick kiln Tk 50,000 for being built on the bank of the Karnaphuli river in Boalkhali, Chattogram, without approval.

The kiln was also ordered to keep construction halted until it obtains the necessary approvals.

On Monday afternoon, November 9, Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Kaniz Fatema led a raid on the under-construction kiln in the Char Kizipur area of the upazila and imposed the fine.

The executive magistrate said local resident Haji Rafiq Ahammad, aged 84, was building the kiln, named D and C, without permission from the authorities concerned. As the raid confirmed the allegation, he was fined Tk 50,000 under section 7(kha) of the Balumahal and Soil Management Act, 2010.

Earlier, on November 5, Dhaka Post published a report headlined about an illegal brick kiln being built on the bank of the Karnaphuli river. Four days after the report was published, the administration raided the kiln and fined it.

Jannatul Ferdous, senior chemist at the Chattogram district office of the Department of Environment, was present during the raid.

Environmental experts have expressed concern over the construction of a brick kiln beside the Karnaphuli river without approval from the Department of Environment. They fear the kiln's pollution and waste could harm the river's environment and its natural course.

Environmental expert and supernumerary professor at the Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences of Chattogram University, Dr Mohammad Kamal Hossain, said the black smoke and waste from such kilns are constantly polluting the Karnaphuli river.

He added that if waste, broken bricks and soil from the kiln are dumped to fill and occupy the riverbank area, the river's natural course could change. That could cause erosion on the opposite bank of the river.

In his view, forests and homesteads could be lost as a result. He stressed that conducting raids alone will not be enough, and that these illegal kilns built on riverbanks must be permanently shut down.

Md Mojahidur Rahman, deputy director of the Chattogram district office of the Department of Environment, said the kiln was fined through the mobile court, and that an officer from his office has inspected the kiln.

He added that the matter is being investigated and that the kiln has been closed for now.