THE drama of relocation of toxic-producing tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar has been played out over a decade. After repeated delays due to primarily who will pay for relocation and the setting up of a central effluent treatment plant (CETP), the residents of Dhaka see the prospect of being free of the hazardous material being dumped into the river system by hundreds of tanneries located in the city. According to the roadmap some 25 companies are scheduled to construct factories this year and the whole relocation is scheduled to be completed within 2016. We welcome this long delayed move and hope the government will do the needful to get the stalled CETP installation back on track.
What is ironic here is that the go-slow momentum of the project has shot the project cost up by more than Tk1,000cr. We are perplexed as to why the contracting company has been allowed to miss the deadline on such a crucial part of the relocation programme. The fact that the country earned nearly a billion dollars in export proceeds from leather industry last fiscal that is about 25 per cent higher than the preceding fiscal year, makes it an important sector. With Bangladesh facing a deadline from the European Union to cut its toxic levels in the leather producing industry, we hope that authorities will impress upon the industry to expedite relocation. Besides, the health issues affecting some 15million Dhaka residents cannot be ignored any longer.