A news report published in a national daily on Saturday said that contaminated water from the Savar Tannery Industrial Estate is being dumped into the River Kaliganga, around 15 kilometres away, posing a serious threat to the biodiversity of the area as well as the livelihood of the villagers. The colour of the water has turned pitch black and red and it stinks. One cannot stand on the riverbank because of the odour.
The decision to relocate the factories from the capital’s Hazaribagh to Savar was taken in 2003 to save the River Buriganga. As there was no effluent treatment plant at Hazaribagh so tannery waste was directly dumped into the Buriganga. But it took nine years to start the process. Finally, in 2017, all the Hazaribagh tanneries were shifted to Savar. The tanneries have almost killed the Dhaleshwari after Buriganga and they are now killing the Kaliganga, a tributary that flows from the Jamuna to the Dhaleshwari.
After the shifting an effluent treatment plant was built at the Savar tannery industrial estate at a cost of Tk 547 crore, though the factory owners raised questions about its quality. The factory owners and locals have been raising a myriad of allegations since the tannery factories were relocated. People are afraid of using the river water since tannery waste has contaminated the water excessively. Even officials at the environment department said the tannery estate still keeps on polluting the rivers. The department has asked the BSCIC to follow the directive of the High Court and operate the CEPT correctly so that the quality of water discharged stays within the parameters. Experts, however, say the CETP was not set up with modern technology.
Gone are the days when the people of the villages on the riverbank of Kaliganga used the river water for daily activities, such as cleaning dishes, washing clothes and bathing in the river. They did not need to buy fish. They now point fingers at the tannery waste as the cause of the destruction of the river.
It is also true that not all tannery industrialists are involved in such crimes. The tannery owners’ association should take action against the concerned factory owners. Polluting and killing the river cannot continue because of some factory owners. Those who discharge untreated industrial waste into rivers must be brought to book.
