Brick kilns in Tripura are stopping work because of a coal shortage, said Vivekanandanda Choudhury, President of Tripura Brick Kilns Association, on Monday, February 16, 2026. The problem grew worse in the last two weeks. Most brick kilns have already stopped production. Some kilns have coal for only seven to eight days. A few kilns have no coal at all. Tripura has about 300 brick kilns. Twenty are not working for different reasons. The rest are active but struggle due to the lack of coal from Meghalaya. Kilns also face money loss as their costs are rising faster than income. Hundreds of workers from states such as Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam depend on these kilns for work.