Dumping tannery wastes in Dhaleswari continues

Tannery factories at Hemayetpur, Savar, on the outskirts of the capital, are still dumping untreated wastes in the Dhaleswari River.
Shahanaz Begum, who lives at Jhauchar, Hemayet pur near the Tannery Industrial Park said that the whole area had been polluted by dumping untreated wastes in the Dhalesawri River.
She said that the pollution was a threat to public health with many people suffering skin diseases and breathing problems.
Alamgir Hossain of the same village said that the Dhaleswari waters became highly polluted and unusable.
‘Our repeated complaints fell on the authorities’ deaf ears,’ said Alamgir.
The government relocated the tanneries from Hazaribagh in the capital to Savar to save the already polluted Buriganga from getting further polluted.
In 2003, the government took the Tk 1,078.71crore project for the construction of the Tannery Industrial Park at Savar.
Tk 477 crore was allocated for setting up of the CETP and the construction of a dumping yard.
At a public hearing at Savar on Wednesday the affected villagers asked the authorities to take pragmatic steps to stop the pollution.

Department of Environment director general Sultan Ahmed said that the tannery park’s CETP would be under online surveillance to stop pollution.
The public hearing was organized by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association in cooperation with the Association for Land Reform and Development, Transparency International Bangladesh, Nijera Kori and Nodi O Poribesh Unnyan Parishad.
Nodi O Poribesh Unnyan Parishad general secretary Shamsul Haque criticised the government for relocating highly polluting tanneries in Savar without putting in place appropriate system to prevent pollution.
He said that unplanned industrialization resulted in the disappearance of Savar’s water bodies.
Ruling Awami League MP and chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee for environment, forest and climate change ministry Saber Hossain Chowdhury assured the inhabitants of the area that steps would be taken to stop all sorts of pollution.
Other members of the committee Rezaul Karim Bablu and Khodeza Nasrin Akthter Hosen, BELA chief executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman, ALRD executive director Shamsul Huda were present among others.
Mayor of Savar Abdul Gani said that the government made a list 65 grabbers of the Bangshi River though the number of its grabbers would exceed 665.
Gani, himself one of the 65 grabbers of Bangshi, demanded eviction of all the grabbers.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net