Hazaribagh tanners stay, cops curb rawhide supply

The latest relocation deadline to tanneries at Hazaribagh expired today. Police are trying to curb rawhide supply into the factories as tanners have, once again, ignored a government deadline.

Bangladesh government tried repeatedly to relocate the tanners from the area, but failed. The latest attempt was a March 31 deadline set during an inter-ministerial meeting on March 20.

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After the deadline expired, The Daily Star found factories operating normally today. Police, however, were seen deployed at Hazaribagh’s entry points to stop supply of rawhide.

“This morning, police turned away two truckloads of rawhide supply at the Beri Bandh entry point,” Mir Alimuzzaman, officer-in-charge of Hazaribagh Police Station, told The Daily Star.

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According to him, police teams have been deployed at the four entry points to Hazaribagh – upon instruction of the government – to prevent entry of rawhide into the area.

“The obstruction will continue as long as the government order will prevail,” he said.

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There are some 195 tanneries at Hazaribagh – blamed for pouring thousands of litres of untreated and highly toxic liquid waste into the Buriganga River every day, posing a serious risk to human and animal health.

Editorial: How long we must wait for relocation?