Two hundred tanneries, situated in the region of Uttar Pradesh, are about to open again. As reported by hindustantimes.com, a Special Board of the Indian state, directed by Minister Satish Mahana, allegedly authorized the restart of working activities in a number of tanneries, whose sewage are compliant with law requirements.
A measure to break through a long stand-by situation
Such decision will concern around half of the tanneries formerly shut down since last November: the aim of their closure was to cleanse the water of the river Ganges while celebrating the Kumbh Mela 2019, a Hindu feast during which prayers dive in the river. This year it took place in Prayagraj. The second half of the tanneries, to which production is still forbidden, will have to wait for the building of a new treatment plant, located in Jajmau, in compliance with the standards set by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. It will manage to process 10 million litres sewage per day.
An 80-million-euro project
As reported by local press, Vijay Vishwas Pant, Kanpur district attorney, cleared up that “the government has approved a nearly 80-million-euro project to check and assess sewage coming from tanneries and heading for the river Ganges. We will make use of 60 million to install the purifier, while the remainder will be used for the plant maintenance”.
The sword of Damocles
Yet, meanwhile, one more sword of Damocles hangs over the entrepreneurs that decided to relocate their own businesses, aiming to tackle difficulties and problems deriving from the closedown. In fact, Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath warned tanneries about illegal sewage discharged into the river Ganges and, at the same time, urged entrepreneurs to undertake their own responsibilities. In fact, the owners of about twelve companies, who moved to the State of Western Bengal (the government provided them with a plot of land to restart their activity), will have to pay a relocation tax.
