Until a decade ago, in the southern part of the district, brick kilns were found lying in ruins. There used to be a line of vehicles carrying bricks to reach the place where the plume of smoke came out covering the sky. Around 200 workers were working till late night in every kiln.

As the brick industry, which has become a strong source of livelihood for the poor, is closing down due to economic stagnation, thousands of workers have lost their jobs . After the closure of the industry, most of them have gone to India for employment.

Out of 700 brick industries opened in eight districts of Madhesh province, there are now only 314 . After the corona epidemic, 386 brick industries were closed in Madhesh alone. 76,000 workers have lost their jobs in the data of the Brick Industry Federation of Madhesh Province.

Among them, around 5,000 laborers from neighboring India are included. 55-year-old Bramhadev Sah of Brindavan Municipality-6 Harsah village now lives at home. Sah, who has worked in the brick industry for two decades, recently became unemployed after the closure of the KTM brick industry. The bricks of this industry located in Chandrapur-10 were sold to Chitwan, Pokhara, Kathmandu. Due to the economic recession, the industry was closed . Saha and 200 jobs were lost. Send two sons Mukesh and Rakesh to Malaysia for employment. I have been unemployed at home," he said, "I spent a long time working in various brick industries. Now that the industry has started to close down, the people who are employed are in trouble.' He said that about 100 people who worked with him went to India after the closure of the industry. In the name of the property there is a kathta ghaderi of Sah . He said that he hoped that his son would earn and send it. After the closure of the industry, many workers were displaced. All those who came from India returned there disappointed. Compared to Nepalis, Indians come less.

Secretary of Rautahat Brick Industry Association Mohan Sah said that not only the industry but also the condition of the workers has become critical . "It is justified that we are in trouble." Apart from this, the livelihood of the workers has also been lost," he said, "Some went to work in other industries. Most of them went to India to work. According to Secretary Shah, more than 200 laborers work in different sections in a brick industry. Up to 300 workers are employed for having a large man. Secretary Shah said that when an industry is closed, so many workers will lose their jobs.

How many laborers work in a season in Rautahat? The association does not have accurate data. But if we add the rate of 200 in an industry, it is understood that around 8000 workers are working now .

To make bricks, the soil must first be prepared, then watering, making raw bricks, carrying loads, putting raw bricks in sheaths, carrying coal or firewood, burning the sheathed bricks, monitoring them, and loading the ripe bricks into the truck are workers. . 

The Raj Brick Industry in Jingdwa located in Paroha Municipality-1 has been closed for 10 years. Mamun Rasid, the operator, said that it was closed after the financial crisis and the workers could not be paid. More than two hundred workers were at work. After the bricks stopped being sold, it was not possible to give them the amount for their labor,'' he said, ``After Corona, everything was ruined by the economic recession.'' 

He said that most of the people who worked in his industry had migrated to India. Mohammad Samser of Rajpur Municipality-3 used to work in Best Brick Industry located at Bhagwan Chowk in Rajpur Municipality. He became unemployed when the industry closed down two years ago . Mohammad Istaq of Rajpur told me that he was now working in a bag factory in Mumbai with his friends from the village. Mohan Sah, Secretary of Rautahat Brick Industry Association, said that the brick industry has been shutting down due to problems such as stalled sale of bricks, increase in coal prices, damage caused by storms, hailstorms, high bank interest, problems in recovery when selling on credit, rising costs of labor and fuel. According to him, the businessmen felt a great relief when the government gave concessions on VAT and income tax which were being collected by the government.

Saha's Gujra-5 Paltuwa-based Ramzan Brick Industry is in operation. Sahko is one of the largest kilns in the district. He has been in business for 14 years and until five years ago, his financial condition was fine. Business was going well . Traders from outside used to come to buy goods in the kiln. Bricks used to be sold at Rs 12/13. Sah told that he started bargaining to give 8 rupees 50 paise now. 

'After the outbreak of covid, many brick business friends closed the industry due to debt. Some have fled to India,' he said, 'If this situation continues, we may go into depression.'

He said that there is more than 20 million loans from the village and the bank. 1 crore capital is required to operate a modern brick kiln. After that, Saha said that there will be an investment of up to 5 crores. In the first year, 140,000 workers worked in the brick industry of Madhesh. After covid, the industry started to be closed . Bikram Sah, President of Madhesh Province of Nepal Brick Industry Federation informed that 76,000 workers have lost their jobs over a period of 5 years.

When a brick industry is closed, around 200 workers are affected. If we add the number of workers across Madhesh, more than 76,000 jobs have been lost," he said, "Who will understand the pain of the workers? Who will listen to the pain of us businessmen? Bricks are produced and not sold. The investment remains blocked. The bank does not waive the interest. Businessmen are complaining that they are having problems because they cannot sell bricks at the price according to the investment.

Durganand Sah of Shambhunath Municipality-5 in Saptari is an old brick dealer in the district. In 2054, Shivshakti Brick Industry was established in Shambhunath. Sah, who has been in business continuously for 27 years, is currently under a lot of stress due to the economic recession. Before covid, he used to sell 3 million bricks in a season. He took a loan of 30 million from Nepal Bank in 2070 with the aim of expanding his business. 3 lakh monthly interest had to be paid . When the business was bright, they paid interest easily . Not even a single installment was delayed . After covid, the business started going down . The economic recession stopped selling bricks . It used to be sold at Rs 20 per brick. Sah said that they have started selling at 12/13 rupees now. If this situation remains, there is no option to close the industry. They are not able to pay even the interest of the bank," he said. "The bricks produced last year could not be sold without getting customers. This year, 3 million more is the same. Sah, who is thinking of paying off the bank loan by selling the land, has not been able to do that either. He said that instead of selling the land for 100,000/-50,000, he has stopped getting customers. Businessmen say that it costs up to 8 rupees to prepare a brick. They complain that they should be forced to sell at this price. 166 brick industries were operating across the district. The Rautahat Brick Industry Association said that only 42 are operating this year.

The best brick industry at Bhagwan Chowk in Rajpur Municipality was closed two years ago . It was counted among the largest and best brick industry in the district. It was closed due to economic recession. Sheikh Samirullah, the owner of the industry, said that 200 workers working in the industry were in trouble. "When the industry is closed, there will be financial crisis for both the owner and the workers," he said, "Now there is no environment to operate the industry." According to Sheikh, the local workers working in his kiln have already migrated to India for employment. Most have gone to work in bag factories in Mumbai. The old brick businessmen of the district, Ramashish Sah, Shivji Sah, Aujer Sah, Ravindra Sah, Ali Akhtar and others have closed down their industry. The association said that they are now under stress because of the debt. 

Rupesh Das of Gujra municipality-5 used to work as a laborer in Pothiyahi brick industry for 5 years. He is a laborer carrying raw bricks . After the closure of the industry, he lost his job . In search of work, he went to Punjab, India on March 25. "Employment opportunities are disappearing here." There is no work to sit down,' he said, 'I will work in India for a few years and earn money and come back.' Many people like slaves have lost their jobs. In the brick industry, workers are divided into groups such as playing raw bricks, carrying them to the sheath, kneading soil, watering, taking out ripe bricks, and loading them on trucks. For this reason, a businessman says that workers should be hired at the rate of 200 in an industry.