Deterioration and Degradation of Aquatic Systems Due to Brick Kiln Industries – A Study in Cachar District, Assam.

Brick industries are unorganised, rural, small scale industries in Cachar district of Assam which play an important role in economic development of the entire region. It has been observed during the study that these brick industries are responsible for large scale environmental problems like land degradation, air pollution, water quality degradation and loss of biodiversity. The present study deals with the quality of water in the selected brick kilns in Cachar district and its degradation during Jan-Dec 2014. The existing water bodies are contaminated with different compounds and continuous siltation from the brick kilns. The research focuses on the variation of various physicochemical parameters such as water temperature, pH, conductivity, Total alkalinity, Dissolved oxygen, Carbondioxide, Nitrate, Phosphate, Transparency in the selected water bodies. The studied ponds were found to be in degrading state with less productivity. Moreover, the result obtained showed the need and urgency to restore the physical, chemical and biological management tactics to conserve and preserve the ecological imbalance and disturbance in the hydro-geo-chemical and hydrobiological cycles that adversely affect the food chain and food web in the brick kiln affected aquatic bodies.