KANPUR: Since November 2018, Kanpur’s famous leather industry has lost around Rs 5,000 crore with over 200 tannery units forced shut by UP government. The closure was ordered for the units’ failure to pay bills for running of the central effluent treatment plant (CETP) and a National Green Tribunal order over Ganga pollution but tannery owners and exporters allege that it was done for Kumbh.“Tanneries were always shut during Kumbh, but it was done on rotation basis and only just before ‘shahi snans’. This time, government started issuing threats from 2018 beginning,” said Hafizur Rehman, called ‘Babu Bhai’ in the bylanes of Jajmau.Rehman, who is the president of Small Tanners’ Association, added that 223 of 249 units were shut by December-end and more than 5 lakh workers were hit. The tannery owners hope they would be allowed to restart operations now as Kumbh ends.The Rs 40,000-crore industry has taken a big hit due to closure. The air has changed, with the putrid stench of decaying hides replacing the acrid, pungent odour of chemicals left unused.“In Jajmau, the hub of tanneries, licence was issued to process 17,548 hides per day. At present, only 1,200 hides are being processed” said Dr Firoz Alam, executive member.Tannery owners are not the only ones hit. More than 70% workforce employed in tanneries and those running restaurants, hotels and transport are also affected.Sarvesh Shukla, a watchmen in a company which has sacked eight other people, said, “I haven’t been paid for the past two months but I have my job at least.”Birju, hailing from Gorakhpur , has been working in Jajmau for five years, earning Rs 8,000 per month. “Tannery owners are laying off workers for months. I wasn’t paid for three months and have now lost my job,” he said.Streets, tea stalls and betel shops in Jajmau are deserted. “The government had one-point agenda: shut down tanneries so that Ganga is clean for Kumbh. It didn’t think about the lakhs of people dependent on this industry? Even if they let us start operations now, it will take months for us to get back on feet. This has set us back by at least two years,” said Arshi Bhai, proprietor of Arshi Enterprises.Owners say the government sealed the wooden drums used for treating leather. The liquid rolling inside kept the wood moist. Left dry, each drum, costing Rs 8-10 lakh, would turn useless by the time the units re-open.The power supply to units was also cut. “Power supply would have saved losses. Hides last for only one week without treatment so we should have been given that much time. We had to throw away hundreds of hides,” said Noor Akhtar of Akhtar Tanners.The district administration admits that infrastructure did not keep pace with industry growth and the present treatment facilities are woefully short to treat the effluents being discharged.“The objective was never to hit tanneries but there was an NGT order. and river pollution cannot be debated. We initially let tanneries work at 50% capacity but even that was too much for the CETP to handle. The treatment capacity and technology are insufficient. A new CETP has been sanctioned at Jajmau. A mega leather cluster park in Ramaipur is also planned and land acquisition has started,” said district magistrate Vijay Vishwas Pant.However, these efforts won’t materialize into something concrete before two years.Council of Leather Exports chairman Mukhtarul Amin said, “Kanpur accounts for Rs 8,000 crore leather exports. We expect it to fall by 30% this year.”

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