Sohel Ahad, Brahmanbaria Correspondent:
For the first time, a day-long Eid reunion and exchange of views of brick kiln owners has been held in Brahmanbaria.
On Thursday, March 26, Daulat Bricks & Co. organized a function at Smriti Chinese Restaurant in Moulvipara of the city at 10 am with Daulat Bricks & Co. Managing Director MNH Khadem Dulal in the chair and the President of the Central Committee of Bangladesh Brick Manufacturers Owners Association, Firoz Haider Khan, as the chief guest. The special guests at the event were the Treasurer of the Central Committee and President of Kishoreganj District Association Md. Khalequzzaman, Advisor to the Central Association and President of Narayanganj District Association Md. Momin Khan. At the beginning of the program, the president of the program, MNH Khadem Dulal, led the recitation and prayer from the Quran. The hosts welcomed the chief guest with flowers.
In the exchange of views meeting, under the leadership of Md. Mojahidul Islam, the acting general secretary of the Brahmanbaria Brick Manufacturers’ Association, the brick manufacturers from different upazilas of the district said in their speech, “This is the first time in the history of Brahmanbaria that so many owners have sat together. Previously, those who were in charge had never sat with us like this. We have a committee, but we were not told what its work was. As a result, all of us owners were isolated.”
In the presence of more than a hundred owners, Kazi Rafiqul Islam, owner of Bijoynagar Upazila TNC Bricks Field Co., mentioned six demands from them, saying, 1. To close the brick kilns, the owners should be given subsidies from Bangladesh Bank to transfer the business, or the brick kilns should be closed with compensation as per government policies, 2. To formulate policies for cutting soil in brick kilns and the approval application should be settled within thirty working days, 3. To amend the inhumane policies in the Environmental Act, 4. To enact a law reducing the distance from educational institutions from 1,000 meters to 400 meters, and 5. To provide one-stop service for brick kiln licenses. Other owners questioned, “Does the environmental law only apply to brick kiln owners?” Moreover, the Department of Environment takes the initiative to enact laws only when the brick kiln season begins. Before that, they do not give any guidance on these issues. Most owners mentioned yellow journalism and the rampant use of fake journalists. Shahinur Islam Shahin, Shafiqul Islam, Billal Mia, Swapan Pal and many others also spoke.
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