Chuadanga Correspondent :
Indiscriminate and illegal use of timber as fuel for brick field is reported to be causing exudation of tree in 10 southern districts. If trees are cut down at the present rate, the region is likely to be strapped bare and shall have to bear unwelcome environmental consequence, maintain informed source. According to a survey carried out by the ministry of Forest and Environment, there are at present 1150 brickfields in the 10 southern are districts.
If an average sized brickfield remains in operation the whole season it burns about 30 lakh mounds of firewood which means that the brickfields themselves burb about 2 corer, mounds of wood. To provide this staggering quantum, about 35 lakh medium-size trees have to be felled.
Local people allege that organized gangs, with the collusion of corrupt. Forest official, cut down the tree planted beside highways, roads, embankments and railway lines. The government has enacted a low prohibiting three felling treating them as public property, but this law is flouted openly.
The districts are Chuadanga, Jhenaidh, Meherpur, Khushtia, magura, Jashore, Narail, Sathkhira, Khulna, Bagerhat.
There are about 850 brick-fields in greater Kushtia and Jashore and none of them use coal and fuel, which they are supposed to do as per government instruction.
When I visited a brickfield at Alamdanga town area, I saw a stack of coal and huge pile of fire-wood. The owner of the brick field claimed that firewood was necessary to ignite the coal. The workers, however, said in confidence that the coal was there just to official inspectors and would never be used.
