EPCCD fails to ensure full implementation of zigzag technology in Rawalpindi district
Preparation of bricks in a kiln in Multan. Photo: APP (file)
RAWALPINDI:
The Environmental Protection and Climate Change Department (EPCCD), Rawalpindi, in coordination with the district administration, has failed to ensure installation of environment-friendly zigzag technology in brick kilns in the district.
There are around 250 small and large brick kilns operating across Rawalpindi district. In the outskirts of Rawalpindi – particularly in the Mandrah and Rawat areas – around 85 to 90 percent of the kilns have adopted the eco-friendly zigzag technology.
However, in Gujar Khan, the district’s largest tehsil and largest brick production market, nearly 95 percent of the kilns continue to operate under an outdated system, emitting highly toxic black smoke and significantly deteriorating the air quality index of the district.
The Gujar Khan brick kiln market comprises around 37 large kilns on an industrial scale. Among them, only seven have installed zigzag technology, while the rest continue to operate using the dangerous traditional method.
These kilns, allegedly with the connivance of officials of the Tehsil administration and the relevant inspector of the Department of Environmental Protection and Climate Change, are operating round the clock in double shifts. Although they produce the highest volume of bricks in the district, they have simply received notices to install the technology in a zigzag fashion, without any effective enforcement.
Representatives of the Gujar Khan Brick Kiln Owners Association say zigzag technology is prohibitively expensive and not all kiln owners can afford it.
They demanded that the government either provide soft loans on favorable terms or install the new technology itself and recover the cost in installments.
The association also confirmed that those responsible for enabling the ovens to operate day and night without zigzag technology are “satisfied”, implying collusion.
Residents of Gujar Khan, Fateh Jang and Attock, including Haji Sohail and Asghar Qureshi, urged the Rawalpindi Commissioner and Deputy Director of Environment Department to ensure 100% installation of zigzag technology in all kilns. They warned that toxic black smoke was causing an increase in disease in these areas.
They further demanded a complete inspection and monitoring of all brick kilns in Gujar Khan by the deputy director of environment and deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, the president of the district bar association said that under the new environmental protection law, all small and large brick kilns are legally required to install zigzag technology.
