Mandi Bahauddin: Due to ban on kilns operating in old styles, the kiln owners have increased the rate of 1,000 awwal category brick from PKR 6,000 to PKR 8,000, reported a news source. The ban, which is applicable from October 20, was imposed on the orders of Punjab Environmental Protection Agency as a measure to combat smog in the province.
The rise in brick rates further increase the cost of construction for people looking to build their houses. Talking to the media, Bhatta Khasht Association District Chairman Azhar Iqbal Gondal said that the kilns in the regions have already been optimally functional due to the monsoon season. The government has made the situation even tougher for the labourers associated with the industry by ordering to keep the kilns to remain shut from October 20 till December 30.
This decision will leave hundreds of thousands people unemployed. Gondal demanded the government to take the decision back or else the association and labour working in these kilns will stage protests.
