The government had been asked to immediately disconnect utility services and shut down the tanneriesThe High Court on Wednesday upheld its previous order to shut down all tanneries in Hazaribagh, and snap their utility connections as it rejected a petition the tanners had filed seeking permission to continue operation there until Eid-ul-Azha.An HC bench of Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Salim dismissed the plea Bangladesh Tanners’ Association and Bangladesh Finished Leather, Leather Goods and Footwear Exporters Association recently filed after the court’s March 6 orderIn that order, the government had been asked to immediately disconnect utility services and shut down the tanneries.The same day, the tannery owners moved the Appellate Division of the apex court seeking a stay on the HC order, which was turned down on March 12.In her reaction over on Wednesday’s development, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA) Chief Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan said there is no legal bar to complying with the HC order now.Hence, the Department of Environment (DoE) must shut down the tanneries at Hazaribagh and disconnect their utility services at once, she saidThe court also asked the DoE director general to submit a report in this regard by April 6. It also sought report from the Industries Ministry on whether the authorities concerned are helping the ministry to stop the supply of rawhides to the Hazaribagh tanneries, in accordance with a previous directive.The court fixed April 10 for the next hearing on the issue.
