Delay in tannery relocation irks govt

In view of the delay in relocating tanneries by the owners from city's Hazaribagh to Savar the government expressed its annoyance last week.
Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu announced on October 25 last that the government would shut down tanneries in Hazaribagh if the owners fail to shift their units within the stipulated time.
Speaking at a meeting organised by tannery workers' union at Hazaribagh, the industries minister once again cautioned that allotment of plots in favour of the tannery owners at Savar Leather Estate would also be cancelled. The government, he asserted, will never compromise on this issue for the sake of public interest.
The industries minister also stated that the government cannot allow millions of people to suffer from environmental pollution due to the whims of a few industrialists. The Dhaka city dwellers, he pointed out, have long been demanding shifting of Hazaribagh tanneries for polluting environment. But it was not possible despite efforts taken by the government in this regard.
Now the government has started the process of relocating tanneries to leather industrial estate at Savar with the setting up of Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP).
The industries minister expressed resentment at the slow progress in tannery relocation despite all-out cooperation extended by the government to this effect. The government, he categorically said, will not bear the responsibility of failures by the tannery owners to relocate their units within the deadline. He also noted that the leather industry plays a key role in development of the national economy and the export earning in this sector has already crossed 1.0 billion US dollars.
The minister expressed the hope that the export earnings from the leather industries would gradually surpass those of readymade garment (RMG) sector.
We fully endorse the views expressed by the industries minister so far as environmental hazards, caused by tanneries are concerned. In fact, the tanneries operating in Hazaribagh for decades have been playing a key role in polluting the river Buriganga. The river is now in a moribund state.
Green activists have also urged the government to realise an amount of Taka 25.29 billion as compensation from the owners of tanneries in Hazaribagh area for polluting Dhaka city's lifeline -- the Buriganga. The Poribesh Bachao Andolon (POBA) has put forward the demand recently.
A survey report released by POBA in March this year reveals that about 21,000 cubic metres of untreated toxic wastes from Hazaribagh tanneries find their way into the Buriganga every day.
On October 13 last year the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) for relocation of tanneries to the Tannery Estate in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka city, by December next.
As per MoU, 155 tanneries are due to be relocated to Savar from Hazaribagh. But progress of tannery relocation is very much discouraging.
POBA chairman Abu Naser Khan told a press conference recently that the work on relocation of only 19 tanneries, out of 155, had just begun. Therefore, it is not possible to relocate all the tanneries to Savar within the deadline set by the government.
Mr. Khan argued the tannery-owners must return the public money that government has invested under the relocation project, if the BTA and BFLLFEA failed to shift their units within the stipulated time.
The work on relocation of tanneries mainly includes building construction, installation of electricity connections and transfer of machineries. It may be mentioned that the government has allowed extension of time-frame for the second time to relocate the Hazaribagh tanneries.
Unless all the tanneries are relocated to Savar, the danger of toxic chemicals being released into the river will continue much to the detriment of the waterways and public health. The toxic materials discharged from the tanneries are entering the food chain and water supply. Not only the Buriganga, three other rivers around Dhaka city are also facing serious pollution and loss of navigability.
As we told in this column earlier, ceaseless dumping of wastes, haphazard dredging and encroachment on the rivers around Dhaka city continue unabated. A recent survey on the wetland around Dhaka city says that all such lands will cease to exist by next two decades if the encroachment continues at the present rate.
Vast tracts of land in low-lying areas along the rivers Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag, Balu and Dhaleshwari are thus being filled up by the land grabbers.

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