The High Court on Tuesday asked 10 errant tanners to explain in two weeks why contempt proceedings would not be brought against them for not relocating tanneries from the city’s Hazaribagh. The tanners include Arefin Shamsul Alamin, Sayedul Huq Master, Md Mahbubar Rahman Panna, Gias Uddin Pathan, Abdus Salam, MD Rezaul Karim Ansari, Abdul Wadud Miah, Abdul Wahab, Md Mofiz Mia and Akbar Hossain. The bench of justice Md Ashraful Islam and justice Zafar Ahmed issued the rule after industries secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the court that the government could not relocate the tanneries in line with verdict delivered by the court in 2001 because of non-cooperation by the tanners. Bhuiyan appeared before the court responding to an earlier summon asking why contempt proceedings would not be brought against him for failure to implement the verdict. The tanneries are to relocate to Savar where the government is setting up treatment effluent plant to treat the hazardous tannery wastes. The court had asked the government to relocate around 200 tanneries which are dumping untreated wastes in the River Buriganga and causing premature death of the city’s main river.
