Tanneries killing the Dhaleshwari River

Authorities are quick to lay the blame on tanneries stating that the factories at the tannery estate do not follow regulations. It was gross negligence on the part of the authorities to force the move from Hazaribagh to Savar knowing full well that the CETP was not operational, although it was claimed at the time that it would be in a few months. A few months has turned into a few years and the water of the Dhaleshwari now has a terrible odour. It's not drinkable and causes skin rashes for anyone bathing in it. It is so polluted that the water cannot be used for agricultural purposes either. Construction that started back in 2014 has not finished in 2019 and the construction company has failed to meet its ninth deadline. We would like to know why the contract was not cancelled years ago and a new one given to a company with a better track record. Why are we repeating the Hazaribagh scenario all over again, causing the death of a river, putting people's health at stake and destroying livelihoods of the fishing community? Have we learnt nothing? Eid-ul-Adha is around the corner and an estimated 7 million hides will be processed and the untreated chemicals will be unceremoniously dumped into an already polluted Dhaleshwari!