Brick fields and the environment
Friday, 5 June 2009
Bricks are made in the country by burning clay in moulds in kilns. The bricks are burnt in the kilns by firewood, gas or coal. But regulations are there for the brickfields not to burn firewood for this has a vital linkage to the environment. The demand for firewood in the brick kilns leads to the cutting down of trees creating both deforestation and reverses in afforestation activities.
Trees that give off oxygen and are needed so much for a healthy and salubrious environment, come directly under threat from the unregulated activities of brick kiln operators. This was the reason for introducing regulations that imposed prohibition on brick burning with firewood and allowed burning with only gas or coal.
But it appears that the use of firewood is considered cheaper or economical by the brick field owners and they resort to such use defying the law and regulations. Thus, many brickfields across the country continue to use firewood at random and without a care for the regulations. The law should be vigorously applied in this area but this application is hardly noted. Therefore, attention of the higher authorities ought to be directed to this problem and they should ensure that the directive regarding not using firewood in brick kilns is properly observed.
There are other regulations as well which the managers of the kiln ought to heed such as building chimneys at a certain height and building the chimneys in such positions that their exhaust can be discharged towards relatively less inhabited places or away from trees and vegetation. There are strict rules to prevent the establishment of brick fields in densely populated areas or too near places having considerable trees and vegetation.
The brick field operators should be obliged to adhere to all of these rules by the authorities. As it is, many populated places in the country along with their trees and vegetation, are facing environmental degradation from the freestyle operation of the brick fields. People in these areas are found to be suffering from respiratory diseases such as asthma, various skin diseases and other ailments. These illness are seen to be the direct outcome of unregulated brick burning. The dying of trees and vegetation in these places and the excess fumes of brick fields, are contributing to the serious environmental decline there. All of these things dictate the need for more enforcement of regulations in relation to the brick fields.
Misbahuddin Ahmed
Trees that give off oxygen and are needed so much for a healthy and salubrious environment, come directly under threat from the unregulated activities of brick kiln operators. This was the reason for introducing regulations that imposed prohibition on brick burning with firewood and allowed burning with only gas or coal.
But it appears that the use of firewood is considered cheaper or economical by the brick field owners and they resort to such use defying the law and regulations. Thus, many brickfields across the country continue to use firewood at random and without a care for the regulations. The law should be vigorously applied in this area but this application is hardly noted. Therefore, attention of the higher authorities ought to be directed to this problem and they should ensure that the directive regarding not using firewood in brick kilns is properly observed.
There are other regulations as well which the managers of the kiln ought to heed such as building chimneys at a certain height and building the chimneys in such positions that their exhaust can be discharged towards relatively less inhabited places or away from trees and vegetation. There are strict rules to prevent the establishment of brick fields in densely populated areas or too near places having considerable trees and vegetation.
The brick field operators should be obliged to adhere to all of these rules by the authorities. As it is, many populated places in the country along with their trees and vegetation, are facing environmental degradation from the freestyle operation of the brick fields. People in these areas are found to be suffering from respiratory diseases such as asthma, various skin diseases and other ailments. These illness are seen to be the direct outcome of unregulated brick burning. The dying of trees and vegetation in these places and the excess fumes of brick fields, are contributing to the serious environmental decline there. All of these things dictate the need for more enforcement of regulations in relation to the brick fields.
Misbahuddin Ahmed