About 35 percent of tanneries in Hazaribagh have relocated to the leather industrial estate in Savar, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu has said.
Fifty-five of the 154 tanneries in Savar have started production in Savar, said Amu in response to a question from Jatiya Party MP Nurul Islam Milon in parliament on Sunday.
The remaining tanneries have continued building construction and installation of machinery, he said.
On Mar 6, the High Court ordered the closure of all tanneries in Dhaka city immediately following a writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Environment Lawyers Association or BELA.
Leather businesses challenged the order in the Appellate Division, but failed to secure a verdict in their favour.
Following the appeals court’s order, they then moved the High Court, seeking permission to run operations until the Eid-Ul-Azha, to be observed in the first week of September.
The appeal was rejected by the High Court on Mar 29.
The owners had been reluctant despite repeated orders to shift their tanneries to the leather industrial zone at Savar.
Following the Supreme Court order, the Department of Environment in April cut off gas, power and water lines to leather factories in Hazaribagh, forcing the plants to shut operations.
Source: bdnews24
