More than 20 brickfields in Dohar and Nawabganj upazilas of Dhaka district are exploiting child labourers in making and carrying bricks in violation of the government rules and regulations.
Moreover, due to billowing of dense, black toxic smokes from the chimneys of those brickfields, the surrounding environment of the areas are also being polluted and crops of the nearby land are damaged.
After visiting some of the brickfields, this correspondent noticed a good number of children aged between 7 to 15 are working in there. They were making clay by mixing water with soil, putting the clay in wooden frames to make raw bricks and drying those in sun and carrying those dried bricks on their heads to the furnace and even helping to fire the furnaces of the brickfields. After burning those bricks, the children were also carrying those on heads to arrange those in rows and finally re-carrying those on their heads on the trucks and vans to supply to various places.
Some children working at Messers Dohar Nawabganj Brick Industries (NDB) of Majirkanda Chalnai area under Nawabganj and Asia Brick Industries (ABI) at Dohar Khalpar area informed, by carrying 100 bricks on heads to the trucks, they get Taka 95 to 100 each. By carrying 200 to 300 bricks daily they can earn Taka 200 to 3000 daily.
Kalam (9) at Asia Brick Industries informed, there is no school, mosque and even playground nearby the brick-fields so they can not study, or say their prayer and even to play. There is no proper sanitation system and proper arrangement for living. Most of those children are hailed from outside of Dhaka, mainly from Sylhet, Rangpur and Thakurgaon. Most of those children-both males and females, are facing various health hazards due to inhaling of black smoke and fly-ashes.
Labourers working at the brickfields informed, the price of tree-trunks being cheaper than the coal, all the brick-field owners of the area were using firewood to burn bricks. By inhaling toxic fume and living under flying-ash round the clock, most of the child labourers were suffering from various diseases like bronchitis, breathing problem, dermatitis and eye diseases.
A local brickfield labourer requesting anonymity said, most of the brickfields have been made by occupying fresh, crop fields. None of the owners of the brickfield cares for any law and regulation. Neither local administration nor the Department of Labour or the Department of Environment ever take any action against the owners of the brickfields who were continuing to burn wood as fuel, violating all rules for ages.
Babul Sheikh of Dohar Khalpara area informed, trees are dying, crops being destroyed and fish of ponds, canals and rivers of surrounding areas are dyind due to poisonous impact of the brickfield smoke and fly-ash. He demanded to take immediate step against the illegal brickfield operators.
Dohar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Afroza Akhter Reba and Nawabganj Nirbahi Officer HM Salah Uddin informed, action will be taken against those violating the Child Labour Law. The operation will be conducted against the illegal brickfield operators, they added.