A mobile court yesterday fined owners of four brick fields in Poba upazila under the district and closed one of those for causing huge losses to agricultural products by emitting black smoke.

The brick field of Abdus Salam at Horian village was closed and the owner fined Tk 50,000 for causing maximum losses to agricultural products while Joynal Abedin, Hasibur Rahman and Alamgir Kabir were fined Tk 40,000 each.

Joynal and Hasibur's brick kilns are at Horian village and Alamgir Kabir's at Kukhandi village.

"Due to black smokes from the brick fields, mangoes borne in almost all the orchards of the two villages got burnt and turned inedible. The banana trees and sugar-

cane plants are also turning yellowish and chilli plants dying," said Poba Upazila Nirbahi Officer Razzakul Islam who led the drive with the assistance of Motihar Police Station of Rajshahi city.

Conducting the raid on the World Environment Day yesterday, the mobile court also warned local officials the Department of Environment for giving Abdus Salam environmental clearance although his brick field does not comply with the necessary condition of setting up kilns within three kilometres of another kiln.

During the raid from 11:00am to 2:00pm, the mobile court found that all the four brick fields were operating without licenses and there were three brick kilns just beside one another at Horian village.

Mofidul Islam Bachchu,

chairman of Harian union parishad, said the brick kiln owners were fined Tk 72,000 a week ago for compensating local growers who suffered losses due to burnt crops and fruits.