Will Dhaleswari go Buriganga way?

Shifting of tanneries to Savar from Hazaribagh is still going on. After disconnecting gas and power at Hazaribagh, 92 tanneries out of 154 have started their operation at Savar. Most of the tanneries have not yet been able to complete their infrastructure set-up. They are working in the under construction buildings.

So far, only 30 factories have got gas connection. Some other factories are at different stages of processing. Roads leading to tannery estate are heavily damaged and unfit for movement of transport. Roads inside the estate are also not in good shape.

A Chinese company is responsible for construction of ETP (effluent treatment plant) at Savar. This project could not be completed on time due to negligence of the company. Experts feel that there is a need for appointing a specialised international company to run the central effluent treatment plant at Savar Tannery Estate after the Chinese contractor leaves the project. If the estate authority can not run the CETP after its Chinese construction company leaves the project, it would be a big disaster.

The workers in the tannery estate allege that issues regarding their welfare were ignored while making the tannery relocation plan. They say that their major concerns are housing, transportation, health and education of their children. These, they say, did not get importance in the relocation plan.

The Dhaleswari river may suffer the same fate as the Buriganga if untreated wastes from Savar tanneries continue to be discharged in the Dhaleswari. The river now faces a serious pollution threat as the CETP at Savar tannery state is not being operated properly. The tanneries relocated from Hazaribagh have started discharging a large volume of effluents there. The installation of salt and solid waste treatment equipment at the CETP is still incomplete. Each factory at Savar is supposed to have two separate discharge pipes-- one for chromium and the other for all other liquid wastes. The factory owners are not complying with the requirement. Many of them are using a common pipe to discharge liquid waste to the CETP. Environmentalists called upon the authorities to take effective steps on waste management in order to prevent pollution. Otherwise the newly constructed tannery zone will turn into another Hazaribagh. Two waste management modules of the estate were not working as per requirement The tannery authorities were dumping the wastes without treatment. Dumping the untreated waste is polluting the Dhaleswary river badly. All tannery authorities do not send their waste to the waste disposal system.

There is a dunghill at Savar tannery estate. All kinds of wastes are dumped into this pond-like place. An environmentally sound dumping zone was supposed to be set up there. That waste was to be recycled. But nothing like this happened. No body can say when this will be done. The liquid portion of this waste is flowing into the nearby Dhaleswary river.

The Department of Environment has found excessive chromium and other chemicals after conducting a study for one year. Only one unit of CETP is working. The second unit is not fully operational.

The High Court on October 12 directed the authorities to complete the construction of all relevant structures including the Central Effluent Treatment Plant(CETP) at the Savar tannery  estate in the next four weeks. ETP is nearing completion but work on the solid waste dumping yard has not even started yet. Work of administrative building, internal surface drainage line and dewatering house has not been completed. The court asked the authorities to install necessary devices in each factory so that chromium and heavy waste materials do not mix and submit a report by November 12 upon compliance with the directives.

The court asked the BSCIC to run the ETP 24 hours a day until November 4 and submit an hourly chart for the court to see whether it functioned properly round the clock. Until now, the ETP has been in operation at intervals. The court instructed the designated Chinese contractor to finish the construction job of the administrative building so that BSCIC officials can monitor the operation of the ETP from that building.

Tannery related associations were told to install devices in all factories to remove salt. So far, only four factories have installed salt removal devices out of 92 units. The court asked the leather processing units to submit a long term and short term salt management plan and install filters to the drainage pipeline so that solid waste does not clog the pipes. The High Court passed the above order following a petition by Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA).

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