A brick kiln named Messrs Jisan Bricks, located in Sarail upazila of Brahmanbaria, is gradually filling up Titas River to make space for its activities.
The brick kiln, built on 600 decimals of land, have already occupied 50 to 60 feet area of Titas River by filling it with sand. Houses have been built on the filled land for the labourers. The River is losing navigability as a result, and the environment is being destroyed as well.
Workers have set up open latrines along the river, polluting the water. The brick kiln authorities have also occupied a government canal adjacent to a nearby road by dumping kiln residue into it. After filling the canal, excess soil has been piled up, making the canal's existence almost impossible to identify. Moreover, the use of substandard coal in the brick kiln is causing black smoke to rise, polluting the environment. This pollution poses a threat to nearby agricultural land.
The manager of the brick kiln, Md Nabi Hossain, said, we have rented the land from a former MP. The main owner of the kiln, Zamir Hossain, is currently in United States. All our documents are being processed at our Chittagong office, so brick production is ongoing. Acknowledging the encroachment of river land, he added, the previous owner of the kiln was the one who filled a portion of the river. We haven't filled up much of it.
Meanwhile, similar activities are ongoing in several brick kilns in Shahjadpur, Deora, Niamatpur, and Dhauria areas of Shahjadpur union. It has been reported that most of the brick kilns in the Sarail upazila do not have proper licenses, environmental clearance certificates, or production permits. Influential individuals have been running these illegal kilns for years by managing the authorities.
Sarail Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Mosharraf Hossain stated, no one can produce bricks without a license, environmental clearance, or production permits.
Encroaching on river land is also an illegal act. We are investigating the matter.
