Rains damage millions of bricks

By Our Correspondent,Banke, Jan. 31: Due to continuous rainfall over two days, millions of bricks have been damaged in the Banke district. 

According to the Banke Brick Entrepreneurs’ Association, out of around 70 brick kilns operating in the district, raw bricks, which were ready for processing, have been damaged by the rain at all kilns.

Likewise, Vice-President of the Lumbini Brick Entrepreneurs’ Association Deepak Adhikari informed that the rainfall on Tuesday and Wednesday caused losses of approximately Rs. 100 million in Banke.

Adhikari stated that in a single kiln, between 100,000 and 1 million raw bricks that had been prepared and laid out to dry were damaged. “Untimely rainfall has caused huge losses to entrepreneurs, and this is likely to lead to a shortage of bricks in the future,” he said. 

Entrepreneurs have claimed that more than 20 million bricks have been damaged in the brick industries in Banke alone. 

From an environmental perspective, brick kilns are allowed to operate only after mid-January, so the rainfall that occurred at a time when bricks were being prepared for firing has resulted in additional losses, according to the entrepreneurs.

As the damage occurred while the raw bricks were drying, entrepreneurs will have to remake the raw bricks. Since the labour used to make the bricks will need to be reassigned for the same work, entrepreneurs have said this will affect overall brick production.