ED: A brazen disregard for both law and environment

Traditional brick kilns continue to be a major source of air pollution in the country, with their existence being one the primary reasons that Dhaka continues to rank as one of the worst cities when it comes to air pollution.

In Bandarban, the situation is much worse: Increasingly confident brick kiln owners in the district have been eating away at the hills in order to set up more of these pollution-generating factories in the area.

According to the Dhaka Tribune’s reporter who witnessed the act first-hand, these brick kilns were backed up by a locally influential businessman who said that he had the proper documentation necessary for the brick kilns despite our representative in the Department of Environment in Bandarban saying that no such documentation was provided.

Such a situation can only exist when an individual is above the law, with locals claiming that they had been silenced by the political influence these brick kiln owners wielded, as they have continued to destroy farmland alongside the hills despite warning from authorities.

Such impunity is not merely unacceptable from a law enforcement standpoint, further eroding away our confidence in our government and police to actually fight for us, it is doubly unacceptable for the widespread environmental damage caused by cutting hills, which continues to be one of the primary reasons for flooding and other environmental disasters in the area.

This gang-like mentality must stop, and local law enforcement should receive all the support necessary to simply drive out these illegal brick kilns from the area and bring to book those who have used political influence to break the law so brazenly.