KANPUR: Hafizur Rehman, the president of Small Tanneries Association , has been sitting idle for a month. A very busy man otherwise, his tannery is completely shut, with the local administration also having cut power to this unit, like all others in Jajmau, on January 6. Loaders have carried away decayed animal skin which is of no use to him.Known as Babu Bhai, he said, “We respect the sentiments around the Kumbh but this is not the first time it is taking place. Earlier, tanneries were never affected like this and the government would close us down for small durations by turn. This time, it was a sudden and complete shut down,” he said.Of the 8 people he employed, two remain. “Is Jal Nigam, the government agency responsible for ensuring that our effluent is treated, being taken to task for having failed in its work?” asked Rehman.Saleha Khatoon, who owns a small shop and runs a lodge in Jajmau. Workers employed by various tanneries around used to stay there.“I was able to earn Rs 2,500 per day selling items of daily use. But for the past few months, I am barely managing to scrape by. My shop is in the middle of tanneries. If the industry shuts down, my work is directly affected,” she said. Her tenants have also left Kanpur as they were without work.Mohammed Fakhruddin, owner of a tea shop in Jajmau for 20 years, said, “What used to be a hub of activity and a centre of all kinds of discussion is lying silent.With no customers to cater to, Fakhruddin has been sitting inside his house adjoining the shop. “I was selling tea using 30kg milk every day. Right now, the consumption is barely 3-4 kg. This is lunch time but there is not a soul here today,” he said.Ghulam Sadiq, owner of Rajjab Hotel at Dargah Sharif, has a similar story to tell. A once bustling lunch venue in Jajmau, his restaurant’s business is now downhill. He cannot stop complaining about the government decision to shut down tanneries for Kumbh. “Everyone in Jajmau is associated with tannery work. My restaurant used to be packed from 12noon to about 1.30pm but now, there are barely a dozen people everyday ,” he said.Sadiq has had to let go of four workers because he was unable to afford their salaries.Imran Mughni, owner of Mughni Tanners, owns a split work unit in Kanpur’s Bhalla Estate.“It is inhuman what the government has done. Did the government think of the lakhs of workers who have lost jobs after the tanneries were shut down?” Mughni said, pointing at the now out of work men who were standing outside his factory.A few days earlier, Mughni had food prepared for 30 people in his home to feed his workers and others around his factory. Most workers had been with him for years, he said, adding he was worried about their well-being.

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