Ahmad Naeem Khan

Pakistani Kiln Workers' Jobs May Go Up in Smoke

LAHORE, Apr 22, 2004 (OneWorld) - A move to shut down scores of polluting brick kilns, regarded a security threat by authorities in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, is threatening the livelihood of thousands of laborers.

The Airport Security Force recently warned of possible air accidents because smoke from the kilns could disorient pilots while landing and taking off. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had earlier expressed similar fears.

The district administration launched an operation to dismantle the numerous kilns last week. Assistant Commissioner (rural) Dr Sajid Ali Choohan says the administration has shut down ten brick kilns in the Sihala and Khanna Pul areas surrounding the capital.

Over 1,200 brick kilns are operational in and around the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and these are witnessing a boom in business because of the surging construction industry. But the growth seems to be taking a toll on the environment.

The Ministry of Environment has declared the kilns a hazard to the environment and citizens' health.

A recent study by the Pakistan Environment Protection Agency and the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that the average suspended particulate matter in three major cities -- Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad -- was 6.4 times higher than the World Health Organization (news - web sites) (WHO) guidelines and 3.8 times more than Japanese standards.

In Rawalpindi and Islamabad, nitrogen dioxide, whose safe limits are 0.05 parts per million, were in the range of 150 to 240 parts per million. Other pollutants like sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide were also found to be above permissible limits.

To tackle the problem, Chief Commissioner of Islamabad Junaid Iqbal Khan informs that the administration has issued notices to the owners of 150 kilns, which are likely to shut down within the next few days.

But the All Pakistan Bhatta Khasht Association (APBKA), a grouping of kiln owners, has threatened to launch a countrywide strike if authorities do not halt the drive to close down the kilns.

Association president Shoib Khan Niazi says over 60,000 workers will lose their jobs and the government exchequer will be deprived of thousands of dollars if the kilns are closed. Around 60 kilns, which produce approximately 200,000 bricks daily, are likely to stop functioning because of the government decision. Niazi warns that if the kilns are closed, production will come to a standstill in Islamabad, which requires 70 million bricks every month for the construction industry.

He fumes, "The ban is unjustified. International law prescribes that a factory be fitted with a 70-feet funnel so that the smoke can be released in the air, and we meet this condition."

Niazi accuses the land mafia of instigating airport authorities, so that it can grab the kilns' lands and sell them. He adds that kiln owners are ready to adopt new techniques to check pollution if the government so desires.

The environmental situation worsened after brick kilns started using old tyres and sludge as fuel, according to a report by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites).

Minister of State for Environment Tahir Iqbal has told kiln owners to use coal or other resources for fuel, threatening to visit brick kilns and penalize those using tyres, even shut down their businesses.

The president of the Brick Kiln Association in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Mirza Mahfooz, explains that brick kiln owners were forced to resort to tyres and sludge because coal from Pakistan was being smuggled out to Afghanistan (news - web sites).

"We know this option is injurious to health, but we have no choice. If we import coal it is not cost effective," he claims.

The federal government has also decided to introduce smoke filters in smokestacks at factories and brick kilns. An official says the administration is keen to close all the kilns operating within and near residential areas in Islamabad by December.