January 9, 2003

The proliferation of brick kilns within the residential areas of towns and cities has created a lot of health and pollution problems ,writes Liaquat Rajper

Bricks are important as construction material and can be found everywhere where development projects are visible. This has given way to the mushrooming of brick kilns without the adherence to rules and regulations or without permission. The proliferation of brick kilns within the residential areas of towns and cities has created a lot of health and pollution problems for the citizens and the labourers working at the kilns. The huge profits in the business have attracted others to embark upon this business as well.

The rapid increase in brick kilns started in 1972 when development work of industrial and residential buildings was at its peak. This augmented the demand for bricks as it could not be met by the few brick kilns run on coal. People began to bake the bricks with paddy husks and garbage and multiplied their income without giving a thought to the multitude of health problems the kilns would cause residents.

According to a survey conducted by this scribe, if such kilns are not checked from spreading or are not shifted outside the towns and cities they endanger the lives of residents and labourers and create unlimited problems for the government as well. The owners of these brick kilns should be directed to erect a chimney over their kilns so that the smoke is released high into the air.

Labourers, not willing to disclose their identities, revealed how kilns are established in the open areas of towns and cities where bricks are baked with paddy husk, garbage and are also covered with ashes. During the baking process, toxic smoke rising from the spot scatters over the entire area and is inhaled by residents living near the kilns. The ashes fly high into the air and fall into the houses of people; falling into food being cooked and on utensils and in the courtyard of houses. The particles of ash inhaled by the labourers cause respiratory diseases like TB, asthma and various eye ailments.

A number of labourers have lost their lives as a result and many others are suffering from fatal diseases. Their meagre salaries do not allow the labourers to seek medical treatment and they suffer in silence. Seeking other employment is often difficult and many times they cannot afford to leave their jobs in search of other opportunities as they have families to feed and clothe. They end up in an abyss of diseases.

All members of the family, including women and children, work at the kilns putting their lives in danger because of financial and economic constraints. One will find even matric graduates slogging away at the kilns as they were unable to find gainful employment elsewhere.

Residents of the surrounding areas are unable to complain against any suffering they bear at the hands of the powerful kiln owners. Once, some residents did try to air their grievances to the owners but were intimidated into keeping quiet or risk facing dire consequences. A few younger people, who were unwilling to get intimidated, decided to pursue the matter, but were manhandled and implicated in false criminal cases.

Out of the eight brick kilns throughout Larkana district six have been closed. Coal was used as burning material and chimneys of 60 feet high were raised so that smoke could be released high into the air from where it could not come down. This system resulted in the safe and hygienic environment for labour as well as quality brick.

Ahmed Mujtaba Chandio, a former kiln owner, shed some light on the conditions of the labour force employed at the kilns. Residential accommodation, advance payments, food etc. were provided to labourers free of cost. All the family members received medical facilities from the government as well as privately. About 30 to 40 families were involved in the job. Advances were given to labour for marriages and circumcision ceremonies.

Chandio expressed disappointment over the labourers’ present situation but held them responsible for their own miseries. According to him, the labourers started to follow the directives of an organization which tried to blackmail the brick owners and when they failed to do so, it instigated labourers by convincing them that their rights were being usurped by the owners and they were getting too meagre an amount. The rift between the labourers and the owners widened and the labourers left their jobs with advance money running into lakhs. At the insistence of the organization, the labourers filed a case against the owners which was decided by the SDM and the Sindh High Court. The labourers were directed to return the advance money to the owners or continue working till the amount received was ‘consumed’. But, the labourers did not do so and fled, never to return. Although Chandio could have taken legal action (as they stood accused of contempt of court) he did not do so. Now, due to the indifference of the same organization that prompted the labourers into action, it is they who are suffering and getting nominal wages on a daily basis without any facilities and incentives that they used to obtain.

It would be worthwhile for the government to look into the problems faced by the labourers. If the rates of coal are reduced and the requisite facilities provided to the brick kiln owners, where bricks can be prepared in accordance with hygienic requirements, a healthy environment can return to the kilns.

A vigilant eye should be kept on the contractors of coal who, in collusion with related officials, increase coal rates every month — an unjust act for kiln owners and those who purchase bricks at exorbitant rates. Chandio demanded that the government should include coal as an essential item for public use, as it used to be 10 years ago, when the deputy commissioner had the authority to fix the rates of the coal once a year.

Rasool Bux Chandio is a man with an engineering background who came into this business because he wanted to provide quality bricks. He has established an automatic brick plant about 18 kilometers from Larkana. The bricks are manufactured at the plant scientifically and every process is carried out by the machines. Daily wages labour is only used for small tasks. The other employees dealing with mechanics have jobs that are permanent and ensure a healthy environment. This proves that there are alternative solutions.

People from all walks of life, particularly NGOs, have called for viable solutions to the problems faced by the labour working at the brick kilns.

One of the solutions suggested is for the government to ensure the shifting of brick kilns to outside residential areas. The owners should be made to construct chimneys on their kilns to prevent respiratory diseases and create a hygienic healthy environment for the labourers. Moreover, the owners should consider enhancing the wages of the labour as well as the provision of medical facilities for them.

The labourers have appealed to concerned quarters for welfare programmes to allow them the basic rights of a citizen and help to overcome their educational, cultural, health and economic problems.

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