Relocating Hazaribagh tanneries

Green activists urged the government last week 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) put forward the demand at a press conference held at its office in the city on September 20 last.
In fact, the tanneries operating in Hazaribagh for decades have been playing a key role in polluting the Buriganga. The river is now in a moribund state.
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 the MoU, 155 tanneries are due to be relocated to Savar from Hazaribagh.
An agency report appeared that in the press says that the progress of tannery relocation is very much discouraging.
POBA chairman Abu Naser Khan told the press conference that the work on relocation of only 19 tanneries, out of 155, has just began. 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.
Engineer Md Abdus Sobhan, POBA secretary, stated that so far as setting up of the central effluent treatment plant (CETP) at the Savar tannery estate is concerned, 75% of the work still remains unfinished. The government, to mentions has allowed extension of timeframe 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 suffering from 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 being filled up by the land grabbers. The filling of marshy tracts is being carried out with sand taken from the river Meghna.
Influential people are engaged in developing the lands for housing projects despite warnings issued by the government from time to time not to do so. The government has repeatedly announced restoration of water flow in the rivers around Dhaka city, a halt to encroachment and pollution and eviction of illegal structures. The High Court also in a directive in June 2009 asked the government to stop river pollution and encroachment.
Over the years the environmentalists and cross section of people are demanding of the government to save the rivers in the country as those are losing their depth at a faster pace and being occupied by land grabbers.
The navigability of the rivers has fallen at an alarming rate. Nearly 90 % rivers in Bangladesh have already lost navigability.
Withdrawal of water from common rivers through building dams on those by India has aggravated the situation and led to the closure of river routes either permanently or partially. Already considerable damage has been caused to aquatic life.
The Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) with financial and technical assistance of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations had conducted a survey on rivers. The survey report reveals that about 100 species of fish have become extinct.
Other reports suggest that a good number of fishes which are still available may go out of existence in the absence of proper measures. Particularly, in northern region of the country, major rivers and their tributaries are in the process of drying up.

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