Keeping true to his ultimatum to the tanneries to shift from Hazaribagh to Savar or face government action, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu stated once again while addressing the Parliament recently that no rawhide will be allowed into Hazaribagh, Dhaka from April.
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“All tanneries will start in Savar from April. I’ve spoken to the Prime Minister. We will take steps to stop rawhides from entering Hazaribagh from April,” the Industries Minister reportedly informed the Parliament, during a thanksgiving motion on the President’s address.
The minister earlier on January 10, 2016, reportedly granted Hazaribagh tanners 72 hours to shift their factories, which was subsequently extended till March 31.
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“I will take action. I will cancel their plot allotment and even close down their factories in Hazaribagh,” Amu reportedly said. He also reportedly instructed the state-run Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) to serve legal notices on the errant tanneries subsequently. After receiving the instructions from the Industries Minister, BSCIC reportedly prepared a list of 28 tanneries, which had done very little towards relocating to Savar. However, later, BSCIC is said to have dropped names of three tanneries from the list as those had started developing their sites in Savar.
It may be mentioned here that according to reports, the leather factories located in Hazaribagh have been a major reason for contamination of the Buriganga River, as they released thousands of litres of untreated and toxic liquid into the river, thereby posing serious health risk to humans.
