Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board has just forwarded the closure notifications to 296 tanneries, which are currently running in India’s district of Kanpur. The quarterly suspension of activities, adopted by federal government to “cleanse the river Ganges prior to the ritual pilgrimage to the banks of the sacred river” (quoting our own translation) and opposed by insiders and professionals, is about to become law. Business Standard, a financial-economic magazine, reported the news, while wondering about the potential effects of such measure on the industrial cluster. For the records, over the last two years around 150 companies, located in the district, ceased their activity; as for production, its value has been decreasing by 50 billion rupees (about 600 million euros). Yet, the decision made by Uttar Pradesh government is going to affect and hit remarkably Indian footwear as well: in fact, considering the current devaluation of domestic currency, the footwear industry will be compelled to use imported materials. Not good news indeed for the groups’ financial stability.
In Uttar Pradesh, India, authorities are forcing tanneries to close. Footwear to go south as well
