At least 111 illegal brick kilns, of which around one-third are with environmentally hazardous drum chimneys, have mushroomed across Barishal districts amid inadequate monitoring by the authorities concerned.

Of those illegal brick kilns, 27 are operating in Bakerganj, 22 in Babuganj, 20 in Hijla, 14 in Muladi, 11 each in Sadar and Mehendiganj and 6 in Ujirpur upazila, according to sources at the Department of Environment.

At present there are also 95 brick kilns that are operating in the district legally.

Only recently, the DoE's Barishal Divisional Office started an operational drive in the district, and so far demolished 12 illegal brick kilns and fined seven others a total Tk 7 lakh.

Faizunnesa Akhter, executive magistrate of DoE in Dhaka, has been leading the drive from November 26.

Lincoln Bayen, divisional coordinator of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association in Barishal, said inadequate drives and lax monitoring by the concerned authorities have led to these illegal brick kilns proliferate in number across the district, raising serious concerns regarding their adverse impact on the environment.

Welcoming the recent drive, he said such stringent drives are necessary to curb this menace.

Contacted, Md Jahirul Islam Talukder, deputy director of DoE's Barishal Divisional Office, said the drive against illegal brick kilns will continue.