Green activists push for relocation of tannery

UNB, Dhaka :Green activists here on Friday demanded relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries to Savar by December 14 next to save the Buriganga River, the lifeline of the city, from its pollution.They came up with the demand at a human chain programme organised by Poribesh Bachao Andolon (Poba) at Hazaribagh in the capital.Poba chairman Abu Naser Khan, Modern Club president Abul Hasnat, Poba executive general secretary Engr Abdus Sobhan, its joint-general secretary Hafizur Rahman Moyna, Green Mind Society president Amir Hasan and Poba coordinator Atiq Morshed, among others, spoke at the human chain programme.The tanneries located in the city’s Hazaribagh area are the major source of pollution of the Buriganga River.On October 13, 2013, the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather-goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) for the relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries to Savar. Speaking on the occasion, Poba chairman Abu Naser Khan said the government has signed an MoU with two private organisations to ensure the relocation of Hazaribagh tanneries to the tannery estate in Savar by December, 2014, but the progress of the project is very slow.As per the agreement, the two private organisations are bound to shift the tanneries within the stipulated time, he said.Abu Naser Khan said if the BTA and BFLLFEA fail to shift the tanneries by the year-end, they should be compelled to return the money the government has invested in the project.According to a Poba report released in March this year, about 21,000 cubic metres of untreated toxic waste is released every day from the Hazaribagh tanneries into the Buriganga River.