bangladesh closes one of worlds most polluted places
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

As police enforced a court ruling

Bangladesh closes one of world's most polluted places

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Bangladesh closes one of world's most polluted places

Bangladeshi workers rest at a tannery in Dhaka
Dhaka - Arab Today

A historic leatherworking quarter in Bangladesh once labelled among the most polluted places on earth was shut Thursday as police enforced a court ruling to protect a vital waterway.

Conservationists have been fighting for years to close the century-old tannery district in the capital Dhaka, which pumps thousands of litres of toxic waste directly into the city's most important river on a daily basis.

The Supreme Court ordered last month that tanneries in Hazaribagh, a neighbourhood dating to the Mughal era, had until April 6 to close before police started cutting power to the businesses.

Some tannneries had asked for more time before closing the historic district, which the industry claims employs around 30,000 leatherworkers.

"Most of the tanneries have already stopped operations. We will completely shutdown everything this weekend," tannery owners association spokesman Tipu Sultan told AFP.

The Buriganga River was once the lifeblood of Dhaka and remains a key transport passageway, but decades of eye-watering tannery waste has left it black and reeking.

Hazaribagh police chief Alim uz Zaman said his department was following orders and "had stopped raw hides from entering" the businesses on the banks of the river.

Government figures estimate that 22,000 cubic litres of foul-smelling waste used to treat animal hides is pumped into the river everyday, including the cancer-causing toxin hexavalent chromium.

Hazaribagh is so rancid it was ranked the fifth-most polluted place on earth in a 2013 list by the New York-based Blacksmith Institute. Those living and working in the neighbourhood faced elevated rates of skin and respiratory diseases, the survey found.

Human Rights Watch has also recorded instances of tanneries employing children, many of whom suffer illnesses from exposure to hazardous chemicals.

But the tannery association warned the "vicious move" would decimate the leatherwork business, Bangladesh's second-largest industry after readymade garments.

"Our lives depend on the income we make from these tanneries. The owners will face temporary losses, but we will lose our two meals a day," said unionist Mohammad Mamun.

The district was first ordered shut by the Supreme Court in 2009, before the deadline was extended until early 2011.

But only a handful of the roughly 150 tanneries in the district were closed, before the court last month ordered police to enforce its decision.

The industry will be relocated to a new industrial park just outside Dhaka but leatherworkers say it's far from ready for business.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

bangladesh closes one of worlds most polluted places bangladesh closes one of worlds most polluted places

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

bangladesh closes one of worlds most polluted places bangladesh closes one of worlds most polluted places

 



GMT 11:28 2017 Saturday ,15 April

President Al-Bashir's visit to Kuwait and Bahrain

GMT 07:51 2017 Sunday ,26 November

HRH Crown Prince condoles with Egyptian President

GMT 14:35 2018 Friday ,12 October

Bahrain's media history documentation hailed

GMT 11:45 2017 Friday ,29 December

10 bodies found in mass grave in Myanmar

GMT 08:44 2016 Monday ,19 December

Hopeless Afghan struggle to save boy sex slaves

GMT 15:15 2013 Friday ,05 July

I breathe freedom in Jordan

GMT 12:55 2016 Sunday ,18 December

Kerry in likely last visit with Saudi king

GMT 05:49 2017 Wednesday ,24 May

Indian police make arrests after mobs lynch 8

GMT 12:12 2017 Sunday ,19 February

More South Sudanese officials quit unity gov't

GMT 09:25 2017 Wednesday ,09 August

Ghada Abdel Raziq prefers exciting drama

GMT 15:03 2017 Saturday ,14 October

HM King congratulates French President

GMT 22:10 2017 Wednesday ,03 May

Boosting Bahraini-Czech relations discussed

GMT 12:43 2017 Thursday ,30 November

Saudi prince freed in 'billion-dollar deal'

GMT 03:55 2017 Friday ,17 November

Al-Hilal's Eduardo looking to lead from the front

GMT 03:26 2017 Saturday ,18 November

Tesla's all-electric semi truck
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday