A report submitted to the Punjab Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revealed that most of Faisalabad’s brick kilns have not converted to zig-zag technology, notwithstanding the claims of the government of Punjab that all the brick kilns in the province now use the technology.
The report revealed that at least 80 percent of the kilns are still operating on old technology, and only 90 out of 550 were found to be using zig-zag technology. Chief Minister, Sardar Usman Buzdar, had declared in May that all the brick kilns in the province had been converted to zig-zag technology but reports have proved otherwise.
The provincial government had banned bull trench kilns (BTKs) or old technology brick kilns a year ago and had urged the use of zig-zag technology.
The ban was imposed due to the deteriorating air quality situation in the province as the government had primarily attributed the air pollution to the smoke from the brick kilns.
An officer explained that switching to zig-zag technology is difficult for brick kilns owners. Additionally, Multan, Faisalabad, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Lahore, and Okara are the main districts that have brick kilns with old technology but only Lahore has followed the directive to convert its kilns to zig-zag technology.
He said that “over 50 percent brick kilns still cannot be considered as among those converted to new technology,” and that besides the EPA, officials from other departments are also responsible for misleading authorities in this regard.
