Dhaka, March 25 -- The Department of Environment (DoE) fined Tk 2.31 billion and shut 628 brick kilns across the country in anti-pollution drives since January this year.

Those drives also seized 164,000 kg of polythene.

The DoE conducted 739 mobile court operations across the country from January 2 to March 23 to combat environmental pollution. These operations resulted in 1,591 cases, according to the environment ministry on Tuesday.

During the operations, 424 illegal brick kilns were shut down, 204 were ordered to cease operations, and raw bricks from 118 kilns were destroyed.

Additionally, six truckloads of battery recycling equipment were seized from five factories, and the factories were closed.

Since November 3, 2024, a total ...