Dhaka's Hazaribagh area, widely known for its tannery industry, has been listed as one of the top 10 polluted places on earth with 270 registered tanneries in Bangladesh, and around 90-95 percent are located at Hazaribagh on about 25 hectares of land, employing 12,000 to 16,000 people. The homes of tannery workers are built next to contaminated streams, ponds, and canals. Informal leather recyclers who burn scraps of leather to produce a number of consumer products also heavily pollute the air. Half a million people living in and around Hazaribagh are suffering and living a hazardous life because of these tanneries. Locals allege they frequently require treatment for skin diseases, fever, cough, gastroenteritis and asthma. At least 90 percent of the Hazaribag tannery workers die before they reach the age of 50 due to unhygienic working-environment. They also suffer from abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhoea, allergy, burning sensation in the chest, throat, palm and toes, urinary problems and pain in the body, waist, legs, back, throat, neck, shoulder and ankles. Most of these tannery workers are not aware of the precautionary and safety measures at work
The treatment facility of this waste management has not yet developed in Hazaribagh. There is no central treatment plant for treating the liquid waste and controlling the use of chemicals in harmful quantity. As a result, the entire liquid tannery wastes carried by the city corporations drains deposit in the low land, west of Hazaribagh. The solid wastes (tiny pieces of leather, excess fat, flesh and hair) are piled up at roadsides in front of the tanneries. Later, these are also thrown into the same low land. Ultimately, these liquid and solid wastes make their way into the Buriganga River. Although the environmental protection laws require the tanners to set up ETPs in the factories, owners never did so causing serious environmental peril.
