Residents of Kultreh Chadoora fed up with pollution from brick Kilns

Demand to stop setting up illegal Kilns in the cultivable land

SHAKEELA ANDRAB

SRINAGAR: A group of farmers from Rangeen Kultreh and its adjoining villages from Chadoora Tehsil of Budgam district staged a protest here at Srinagar, against setting up of new brick kilns in the area on cultivable land.
The aggrieved farmers said the Pollution Control Committee of J&K allegedly gave its consent more than a year back to one brick kilns, thus violating its own order, as the Pollution Control Committee Budgam had shown its resentment to set up fresh brick kilns in the area.
While speaking to press, in Srinagar the aggrieved farmers who own apple, plum and almond orchards in the area said that no consent has been obtained from horticulture and agriculture departments.
Air pollution is becoming a major concern for human life but some elements are ignoring such concerns and are trying to earn money in one way or the other. Recently on world lung cancer day, Doctors Association Kashmir said lung cancer cases are on rise among people who have never smoked because of increasing exposure to toxic air. “Poor air quality is behind spike in lung cancer cases among non-smokers,” said DAK.
He said evidence has shown that polluted air is associated with increased risk of lung cancer which is the most prominent cancer in Kashmir. The Director SKIMS has also warned us as there are 10,000 deaths taking place every year due to air pollution. In this scenario no fresh brick kilns should be constructed in J&K.
Pertinent to mention that 20 years ago, Rangeen Kultreh village in Chadoora Budgam had no brick kilns. With the passage of time around two dozen kilns were set up between 2003 and 2012. From 2013 to 2022, the Budgam district administration and the erstwhile J&K Pollution Control Board (now known as JK Pollution Control Committee-JKPCC post Article 370) didn’t permit more kilns, but now they gave permission for setting up new brick kiln.
According to experts, most kilns in Budgam or other parts of Kashmir violate the Brick Kiln Act and Section 21 of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
Unfortunately, the Pollution Control Committee does not act against them and instead it grants fresh permissions. This is an open violation of the Air Pollution Act 1981.
“We expected the JKPCC to be stricter as it is under the Central Pollution Control Board’s administrative control. Instead, permission to set up two kilns was issued by JKPCC Member Secretary while its District Officials had given an adverse field report a few years back. How can the secretary override his field agencies report.
In March this year the Air Force Station in Srinagar sent a letter to Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and DC Budgam showing its concern over brick kilns. The letter reads:
“The brick kilns operating around Air Force Station, Srinagar emit a large quantity of smoke and particulate matter. This smog has a direct adverse effect on the environment and in-flight visibility during the terminal stage of the flight. It has been noticed that during the last decade, the number of brick kilns is rapidly increasing. Increasing number of brick kilns [worsens] environmental pollution.”
“The JKPCC & District Administration Budgam have bypassed this air traffic security concern also and allowed construction of a fresh brick kiln at Kultreh village which is only 4 to 5 kms aerial distance from Srinagar airport” said a local resident of Kultreh.