Industry Minister Amir Hossain Amu today said that rawhide would not be allowed to enter tannery factories at Dhaka’s Hajaribagh to avert environment pollution.

Warning the Hajaribagh tannery factory owners, the minister said they must relocate their factories to Savar Industrial Park by April.

“I have talked to the prime minister [Sheikh Hasina] and she has agreed that rawhide will not be allowed to enter Hajaribagh’s tannery factories,” Amu said while participating in the thanksgiving motion on the president’s speech in the parliament.

He noted that many tannery factories have already relocated their respective plants to Savar. “I hope it will be possible to relocate the rest of the factories to Savar Industrial Park within March to April.”

Pointing to the chemical plants situated haphazardly at the capital’s different areas, Amu said the government has moved to build a separate industrial estate at the city’s outskirt Keraniganj for chemical plants.

Turning to January 5, 2014 national elections, the minister lambasted those who opposed holding of the polls.

“They [those who opposed the January 5 polls] wanted to turn Bangladesh into a failed state like Pakistan. They wanted to create anarchy in the country by foiling the election. But people have foiled their conspiracy in this regard,” he said.