DoE Drives Down Environmental Offenders in Keraniganj and Dhaka
In a joint operation conducted on Thursday by the Department of Environment’s (DoE) Dhaka District Office and the Monitoring and Enforcement Division of its headquarters, mobile courts were deployed in the Kakalia and Shakta areas of Keraniganj to crack down on illegal battery factories.
During the operation, two unauthorized battery manufacturing units—Sagar Battery House and Yespa Metal—located on Abdus Salam Chairman Road were sealed off. Utility connections to both factories were disconnected, and two separate legal cases were filed against them.
The inspection team discovered that a road within the factory premises had been constructed using hazardous waste materials from a zinc-processing plant. The factory authorities were instructed to remove the waste within seven days.
The mobile court was led by Executive Magistrate Md. Rezwan-ul-Islam of the Department of Environment, with active support from a specialized unit of the Bangladesh Police.
Additionally, under the Air Pollution (Control) Rules 2022, mobile court drives were conducted in Dhaka’s Banglamotor and Jatrabari areas. These resulted in two cases and the imposition of fines totaling BDT 60,000. One factory's utility service was also disconnected.
In accordance with the Noise Pollution (Control) Rules 2006, further drives were carried out in the Eskaton and Dhamrai areas of Dhaka, leading to 13 cases and fines amounting to BDT 13,500.
Meanwhile, a separate mobile court targeting black smoke emissions was conducted in the Tejgaon industrial area. This action led to 10 cases and the collection of BDT 31,500 in fines.
