Bangladesh orders to shut down illegal brick kilns to fight toxic smog

The High Court of Bangladesh has ordered on November 26 to shut hundreds of illegal brick factories that surround the city within two weeks. An independent air quality monitor said that Dhaka's air quality was the worst in the world on November 25. The Bangladesh police are putting efforts to demolish illegal brick factories around the smog-choked capital, Dhaka forcing a lot of migrant workers to abandon their work and go back to their villages. Every autumn, following the monsoons, Dhaka's brick kilns use coal and wood to make bricks out of clay adding up the emission levels. Many factories were constructed within a span of five years owing to industrialisation and urbanisation in a growing economy.

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Illegal factories should be shut down, say authorities

Authorities said that shuttering down the factories will make Dhaka's air more breathable and will bring respite to the people of Dhaka. Many workers, who hail from rural regions or coastal areas hit by climate change, have been left without a job. Magistrate Kazi Tamzid Ahmed ordered police to keep the workers at bay. Some brick kilns violated the environmental regulations and some are set up near the schools. Nazrul Islam Nabin, a kiln's owner pleaded for the excavator to be stopped, but to no avail.

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Workers earn 300-800 Taka per day

He said that around 300 workers were now without a job and would be forced to head home to their villages on the south coast.
According to the reports, most of the workers travel to the urban brick kilns during the months of winter where they earn between 300-800 Taka ($3.5 - $9.5) per day. The money they earn helps them to keep their families afloat for the rest of the year. Around 50% of the total kilns present in the country are illegal which provides employment to almost one million people.

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