Unlicensed plastic factory next to school fined Tk 10,000 in Hizla
Photo: Collected
Plastic processing was being carried out inside a residential area without environmental clearance, and waste was also being burned. On this allegation, a mobile court fined an establishment Tk 10,000 in Hizla, Barishal. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Ilias Sikder conducted the drive at Pattanibhanga in the upazila’s Guabaria union on Wednesday afternoon.
Local sources said the establishment is named ‘Ifras Khan Traders’ and is owned by Gias Uddin Khan. Discarded plastic and polythene collected from various places are cut there and washed with chemicals. These wastes are also burned inside the factory. Local residents allege that black smoke and foul smell from this are polluting the surrounding environment.
East Pattanibhanga Government Primary School is right next to the factory. Locals say teachers and students are suffering from the smoke and smell, and normal teaching is also being disrupted.
Executive magistrate and UNO Md Ilias Sikder, who led the drive, said running a plastic factory in a densely populated area without clearance from the Department of Environment is a threat to public health. Initially, the owner has been fined Tk 10,000 and warned. Strict action will be taken if work continues again without clearance.
Barishal Department of Environment Assistant Director Kazi Saifuddin said a show-cause notice will be sent to the establishment soon. If it fails to obtain the necessary clearance by meeting environmental conditions, legal action including an order to close the factory will be taken.
Along with the fine, local residents have demanded that the factory be moved out of the residential area quickly. They allege that many people in the surrounding area and the school’s students are at health risk due to the smoke and smell.
District angle
According to a BSS report of 20 January 2026, in Banaripara municipality of the same district, the Department of Environment and the upazila administration, with the help of National Security Intelligence (NSI), conducted a joint drive at an illegal polythene factory named ‘Messrs Zaber Plastic Packaging’ and seized polythene and polythene-making materials.
Sources
Original report: Bangladesh Pratidin
Background sources: BSS, 20 January 2026
