A CORRESPONDENT
BOKO: An illegal Bangla bhatta brick business came to light after a brick-laden truck got stranded on a road at Pukhuripara village under Boko Revenue Circle on Saturday. Villagers investigated the truck and they found that the truck was carrying Bangla bhatta bricks which is illegal, so they called Boko Police.
Barun Boro, a villager, said that brick smugglers use the road to transport bricks by trucks and now the road was totally damaged. “We warned the truck drivers not to use this road with more load than permitted. But they ignore our warnings and drive overloaded trucks on this road,” added Boro.
The driver of the truck, Isfakur Islam said that the bricks were supposed to be unloaded in Shillong. “We don’t need any permit to carry the bricks, everything was settled by the owner Ashadul Haque from Balijhar village,” added Insakur.
The Pollution Control Board of Assam has banned Bangla bhatta brick kilns and its business. Despite this, smugglers continue the trade. On the other hand, the driver of the truck also confessed about the taxes to pass the checking in Meghalaya till Shillong. “After crossing Jorabat, I have to pay Rs 800 in weighbridge and Rs100 to Meghalaya Police. After that I again have to pay Meghalaya Police and Meghalaya Transport Officers Rs 1200 at Borapani,” said the truck driver.
A villager of Balijhar village said, “Ashadul Haque sells a piece of brick for Rs 13-Rs 15 in Shillong, whereas the same piece of brick he sells in Assam at Rs 3 to Rs 5.”
Boko PS Officer in Charge Phanindra Nath said, “We have seized the vehicle and investigation is going on. We will register a case regarding this matter.”
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