KENDRAPARA: Come winter, brick kilns are seen sprouting close to towns, villages and near rivers across the district without necessary pollution clearance to operate from Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB).
Puking smoke polluting the periphery of their location, the illegally operating units violate Air Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1981, Environment Protection Act 1986, Water Prevention and Control of Pollution act, 1974 and guidelines of the Supreme Court.
Environment activists allege that many units are owned by influential persons and political party workers who have been illegally lifting soil from villages, river beds, forest and revenue land to make bricks. To add to it, use of firewood and low quality coal in the kilns cause air pollution.
“The kilns put pressure on agricultural land and pose a threat to forest and bio-diversity,” said environmentalist Biraja Pati. He said highly toxic smoke released from the kilns can cause tuberculosis, hepatitis, skin allergy and diseases of eyes and lungs. With onset of winter, a host of health problems also get aggravated due to pollution.
Four years back, OSPCB along with district administration had shut down around five brick kilns in Marsaghai and Mahakalapada blocks of the district. Environmentalist Sudhanshu Parida said the kilns should be registered and steps taken to ensure people working in such units have access to social security, healthcare, education for their children and minimum wages as fixed for labourers by the government.
Collector Samarth Verma said the district administration recently directed all tehsildars to keep an eye on violators and close down illegal brick kilns in the district.