11-year-old Farhad works by turning bricks in the kiln. For this, he gets 200-300 rupees a day. Farhad works with his father Kajal Mia in the Popular Brick Field. The location of this kiln is in Balurchar village of Balurchar union of Sirajdikhan upazila of Munshiganj.
A poor working father can't support the child in his studies. So Farhad is forced to earn. 9 years Eamon working in the same kiln. He also came to work with his father Khorshed Mia.
Several children like Farhad-Iman work in the brickyard. The work started in the morning and continued until the afternoon. Sometimes a wheelbarrow carrying bricks has to be pushed. Sometimes the drying brick is turned upside down. Someone has to supply coal to the furnace again. The child laborers give all the income from this to the family.
Section 42 of the Bangladesh Labor Act is being violated in the brick kilns of Munshiganj's Dhaleshwari shore. The majority of the half-hundred brick kilns in the district are located in Sirajdikhan. The same picture was seen in Popular Brick Field, Molla Bricks, Hossain Bricks, and Noore Madina Bricks of Balurchar village of Balurchar Union of Upazila. The situation is the same in the kilns of other villages of Sirajdikhan upazila.
30-40 children are seen working in each brick kiln. Along with parents, children of different ages pull the load of bricks. They are sometimes pushing a wheelbarrow, sometimes turning over raw bricks. Besides, some people pulverize coal, some arrange bricks in a row to burn in the furnace. The children have to work to remove the red brick burnt in the coal from there.
Hossain Bhandari, the owner of Hossain Bricks in Balurchar, admitted the issue of child labor in the kiln. He claimed that the family members be dissatisfied if the children were not allowed to work. As a result, he was forced to work.
Shaheen, the manager of Popular Brick Field, said that those who come to work in the brickyard, come with their entire families. By doing this, children are also employed.
Sirajdikhan Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sabbir Ahmed said he will soon inquire about the employment of children. He assured us to investigate and take legal action against brick kilns involved in child labor.
ARS
