High court rule against 10 tannery owners 

The High Court yesterday issued a contempt of court rule against 10 tannery owners for obstructing the implementation of its 2001 judgment on relocation of hazardous tannery industries from the capital's Hazaribagh area to Savar.

The court asked them to explain in two weeks why contempt of court proceedings should not be brought against them.

The HC gave the rule after hearing a contempt of court petition by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), a non-governmental organisation.

Petitioner's counsel Manzill Murshid told the court that 10 of the polluting tannery industries in Hazaribagh didn't take any step to relocate their factories to Savar though the government had given them notices to do so following HC directives.

The owners of the other tanneries in the area made preparations for shifting their factories after getting the notices, he said.

In 2001, the HC directed the government to ensure relocation of the tanneries within two years to save the Buriganga river from pollution.

As the government didn't implement the HC directives by that time, the HRPB filed a petition with the court in June 2009.