RANGPUR, Feb 06: A vast tract of arable land in the district lose fertility every year as brick kilns are collecting huge quantities of earth from the topsoil of agricultural lands for making bricks.
As a result, the affected lands remain uncultivable and fallow for years, affecting overall crop production. The situation sees a worsening trend on due to lack of strong monitoring from the district and upazila administrations.
Sources said more than 185 brick kilns have so far been built in eight upazilas of the district in recent years. The brick kiln owners are running their business violating the existing laws.
The total areas of agricultural land are decreasing alarmingly which will ultimately threaten the food security in the densely-populated country. It will not be possible to cultivate any type of crop on the land in near future unless the topsoil is replenished, sources alleged. Besides, some important roads in the areas are also being damaged, as soil is being lifted from both sides of roads.
With increase in earning and improvement of living standard in recent years, more people are inclined to construct multi-storied buildings and demand of bricks is on the rise.
To meet the enhanced demand, the brick kilns owners looking for more cultivable lands around the kilns to collect earth. For this they lure the farmers by giving handsome amounts of money.
According to sources generally a farmer can earn only Tk 10,000 to Tk 12,000 from a bigha of land annually by cultivating paddy on a bigha of land in a year.
As the agents of brick kilns owners offer the land owner farmers Tk 25,000 to Tk 30,000 in exchange of cutting one to three feet deep top soil from a bigha of land at a time in a year, many farmers willingly accept the proposal, sources added.
The unabated lifting of soil from cultivable lands is also hampering the government's initiatives to achieve the country's food security, sources added.
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