Rawalpindi: The Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) has provided notification of the deadline issued to brick kiln owners in the Rawalpindi Division for converting their setups to the more environmentally-friendly ‘zigzag technology’, a news source reported. To this effect, it directed the owners concerned to get their kilns converted by September 30.
The department took the said action following the directive issued by Supreme Court.
As per the statistics shared by the EPD, only 7 out of the existing 180 kilns in Rawalpindi Division were converted to the zigzag technology while the remaining 172 continue to operate on the conventional technology, which not only causes environmental pollution but is also the cause of several deadly diseases such as cancer.
According to reports, most of the kilns in the division are located in Mandara and Gujar Khan and the department is monitoring the smoke emission from these kilns. The EPD has also announced its decision to launch crackdown against these kilns from October 1; stating that the government has adopted zero-tolerance policy against environment pollution.
The incorporation of zigzag technology in kiln is less harmful for the environment as it emits the environment friendly white smoke instead of the toxic black smoke.
