KATHMANDU: With the winter at its peak, denizens of the Valley lurk around in cloaks to avert a nip in the air. But life at brick kilns is a different tale. Hundreds of low-wage-earners, both Nepali and migrant Indian labors, toil to bake mud into bricks at scores of kilns operating in east corners of the valley in the city of Bhaktapur during winter. And despite repeated government restrictions on kilns to operate inside the Kathmandu Valley, the establishments are emitting hazardous levels of sulphur dioxide and black carbon without much thought. Above all, the kilns are major income source for scores of laborers who toil day and night at the settlement without paying heed to the biting cold.   According to official statistics as many as many as 63 brick kilns are located at Jhaukhel, Chaling, Sudal and Bageshowri of Changunarayan Municipality, and Nangkhel and Chitrapur of Suryabinayak Municipality in Bhaktapur alone. Moreover, people residing in the area say the brick kilns have not only added to air pollution but have also turned large swathes of arable land barren due to excessive digging of mud using excavators. However, the operators and workers at the kilns are bound to not pay heed to criticisms and make a living out of the work. 'On average, we get paid Rs 300 to prepare 1000 bricks,' a laborer toiling at the settlement told. The average wage earned by the workers is well below the minimum wage fixed by the government. Apart from the threats to public health, the workers at the kilns are under more serious health risks as they work without wearing protective gears and directly inhale the gases. According to Changunarayan Municipality Mayor Som Mishra, workers at brick kilns are exposed to serious health hazards. They are compelled to work under adverse conditions without facilities like drinking water and toilets. He also said that there were a good number of children employed at those brick kilns. These brick kilns have also violated the general rule which says that such industries should be at least two kilometers away from a residential area and should not be near forests, the Mayor added. According to Industrial Operation Act 2002, brick kilns must operate at least 500 metres away from human settlement and forest areas. As per a study, most brick kilns operating in the district contravene the rules. Nonetheless, it is the workers who are bound to work under hazardous conditions without giving much care to the nip in the air or the emission they inhale.