We examine the heavy price paid because of the hazards and health risks presented by the country’s tanneries.
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From the slums of Bangladesh to the fashion houses of the world – luxury leather goods from Dhaka generate sales of more than $1bn a year. There are more than 200 tanneries in Hazaribagh, Dhaka, employing more than 30,000 workers. |
Every day, the tanneries discharge 21,000 cubic metres of toxic waste into gutters that flow into Dhaka’s main river.
In 2009, the Bangladeshi High Court asked the government to relocate the tanneries to an area outside of Dhaka.
Industries Minister Dilip Barua said the government is committed to an environmentally-friendly tannery zone, but as yet, little has been done due to disagreements between the authorities and tannery owners, over who should bear the cost of moving.
“This [leather] is a product that is used worldwide for luxury goods, but for these workers who are making them, neither the owners nor the government are looking after our health and safety,” Abdul Malek, head of the Tannery Workers Union, told Al Jazeera.
Each year 14 million raw hides are processed into leather in Bangladesh – the leather is then exported to top fashion labels in dozens of countries around the world.
The country is a major supplier of leather to Europe, with Italy being the largest importer of Bangladeshi leather, buying goods this year worth around $85m.
Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds, reported from Dhaka, “Conditions here are so bad that a new report just put out by an influential group of European and American environmental organisations, named Hazaribagh as one of the five most polluted places on the planet.”
And Syeda Rizwana Hasan from the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, added: “If you want to know how hell looks like … come to the Hazaribagh tanneries and have a look at the tannery area, that should tell you perhaps how hell looks like.”
So, what hope is there for an improvement in the working conditions in Bangladesh’s tanneries? Is it the responsibility of the factory owners, the government or the big importers in the West? have a more responsible role to play?
Inside Story presenter Divya Gopalan, discusses with guests: Mohammed Abu Taher, chairman and managing director of the Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather goods and Footwear Exporters Association; and Richard Pearshouse, senior researcher with Human Rights Watch, focusing on environmental issues in Asia.
Source: Al Jazeera
All concerns involved are responsible for this pathetic condition of Hazaribagh. The Government, the tannery owners and the Importers.
The Government should and must get off their cushy chairs and make this long awaited situation into reality immediately. But nothing will happen as long as they are power hungry, involved in gangster politics. They just come to power to make money for themselves. Worry about other things? Are you crazy or what? All these so-called Ministers are ex hoodlums, goons and illiterate hooligans. All they know is “street politics” nothing else. They’re definitely not educated enough to work with the public and for the public. That is not their motto. They don’t know how to live for the benefit of the people who votes for them to come to power.
The Tannery Owners could care less for the public. They make their millions, lives in excellent conditions. who cares about others? Basically in the entire Bangladesh, if one care for the welfare and well being of others, it would be a country like Malaysia, Singapore and other Tigers in Asia. But they don’t care. They care for money, that’s it. Thats the bottomline. Plus they are not educated enough to worry about the environmental consequences, well being of the regular people etc.
The Importers should boycott their business. They should totally stop purchasing the leather products until and unless the tanneries are operating the best possible way. They should send Representative from their companies to Inspect the factories. Just like they have Staff in their Buying Houses, they should have Inspectors to Inspect the factories. Every factory should have individual water Treatment plants. The Buyer’s Inspectors should measure the toxic waste going into the rivers. There are a lot of areas where the Buyers can put their foot down to make things happen. Rather, they just turn their heads the other way around.They are equally responsible. Any ultimatum out on the tanneries and on the Government by the Buyers will definitely be obeyed. But nobody is doing anything.
One request to Ms. Syeda Rizwana Hasan. Don’t compare the slums with hell Do something about it. Get with the Buyers. Make them put an ultimatum on the Government and the owners.
Things need to get better. No time for bickering or pointing fingers. It needs to be done.PERIOD. No IFS, ANDS or BUTS about that. Please get your job done. Don’t sit in that “Ivory Tower” and blame others.
Thank You.