Defying laws, some unscrupulous traders are cutting down trees to fuel a brick kiln in Manpura Island of Bhola, locals alleged.

Worrying developments have been reported in the remote forests of Bhola's Manpura Island where trees are being cut down indiscriminately to fuel brick kilns or for other purposes.

Pabitra Roy, who secured GPA-5 in PEC and JSC exams, spends six months of a year working at a brick kiln to pay for his studies as well as support his family.

Brick kilns are the top air polluter in seven major cities in the country, particularly during dry season when most bricks are made, turning the air quality of these metropolises “severely unhealthy”.

“Humans of New York” fans across the world come up to end bonded labour in Pakistan, donating over $2 million to an “Indiegogo” campaign launched by Brandon Stanton, the photojournalist behind the popular photo blog.

AT least 67 percent of the country's 8,500 brick kilns are running without the permission of the Department of Environment, according to the environment group, Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba). Of these, more than 1,900 kilns use wood to burn bricks, a practice which is a punishable offence as per our environmental laws. These statistics are highly alarming, given that unauthorised brick kilns are responsible for causing irreversible damage to the environment and posing serious health hazards to people working and living in nearby areas.