Hazaribagh, once a heartland of tanners and rawhide processing, is awaiting rapid socio-economic and environmental changes through redevelopment.The relocation of tanneries to Savar has left the old part of Dhaka with the new-found scope of developing the area anew.In recent times, the FE correspondent made multiple spot visits to the old tannery hub that has now taken on a forlorn look.He found a lion’s share of the factory establishments lying unused and were being supervised by some staffers.The FE correspondent talked to the tannery stakeholders and Hazaribagh residents to learnt about their views after relocation of the tanneries.The shabby buildings are now mostly used as warehouses and finishing centres which were once occupied with wet-blue leather processing lines even a couple of years ago.Abul Kashem, a caretaker of an abandoned factory of Infinity International, used to work for different factories here for the past three decades.He has witnessed massive changes in the old tannery hub over the years. “The vicinity has seen a radical change both in terms of a shift in business and environment. It was once a place of hustle and bustle night and day with tanneries running in full swing,” he said.”Now you can experience a calmer atmosphere, which is a rarity in Dhaka city,” Mr Kashem mentioned.Some owners were now manufacturing leather goods like footwear, wallet, belt and bag here, he said.New outlets were mushrooming along the Sher-e-Bangla Road, tannery intersection and elsewhere, the man went on.Sources said some tanners were also using their factories for preparing and cutting finished leather after the stuff brought from the Savar estate.”We cannot keep the facility here unused, so we do finishing here,” said trader Md Kamal Hossain.But the haulage was pushing the running costs higher here, he added.Located within the derelict estate, the Gojomohal Tannery High School was found continuing its academic activities.Shormila Rani, a guardian of a student, said relocation of tanneries brought a big relief for them.”Once the odour of rawhide filled the air here, but the air quality has improved a great deal,” she added.Even overflowing wayside drains often caused sufferings to school-goers and guardians, Ms Rani observed.The tanneries moved to Savar in 2017 following a series of protests by environmentalists, the government’s persuasion and finally the higher court’s intervention.According to sources, the leather-related business began at Hazaribagh in the 1950s with a couple of tanneries.With the passage of time, the number of tanneries, large and small, grew to around 250.Nearly 50,000 workers had been working at the Hazaribagh tannery hub before relocation.Adequate facilities like mosque, school, playground, shop and eatery were established for the dwellers there.Not the tanneries alone, there were allied businesses like trading in raw materials, chemicals, dye and supply of accessories.With the recent relocation of tanneries, many business facilities and plots were found totally unused.Hazaribagh is suitably located near the posh Dhanmondi area and the Sadarghat-Gabtoli Ring Road.”The property is highly valuable here, but they are not productive at the moment,” tanner Mizanur Rahman said.Also a treasurer of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), Mr Rahman said the estate owners were now seeking to turn it into a model residential area.To this end, BTA members already sat twice with the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) to discuss the issue, he said.The RAJUK has planned to build facilities like park, playground, community hall, shopping mall and a site for indoor games in the proposed residential area.”We welcomed the RAJUK’s plan to ensure best use of the landed property there,” said the BTA leader.He, however, identified complexities relating to mortgaging land to banks and the successors of the owners.When contacted, the RAJUK’s Detailed Area Plan (DAP) project director Md Ashraful Islam said they talked to the tanners several times to set the next course of action.”The tanners agreed in principle to turn the estate into a residential area under the RAKUK’s plan,” he told the FE.The RAJUK already sought necessary documents from the plot owners there, he cited.”To redevelop the area, we’ve already talked to some urban planners,” disclosed Mr Islam.The proposed project would have enough greenery.The city authorities primarily identified 65.59 acres of land for redevelopment. The land area is likely to be expanded to around 100 acres, he said.There are now around 400 establishments of various types in the area.However, many new apartment buildings were found under construction contiguous to the area.
