Environmental authorities in Kanpur inspected 22 tanneries over a 48 hour period and found 15 to be in violation of waste discharge limits and they subsequently had their power supply halted and were asked to stop production until the waste discharge limits were brought back under control.
There are some 402 tanneries located in Kanpur area of Northern India and the Indian authorities are stepping up action against environmental pollution especially around the sacred Ganges river. Many in the Indian leather industry feel that they have been unfairly blamed for much of the pollution which may have also come from other industrial sectors.
During a press conference on February 1, Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman of the Indian Council for Leather Exports said that the leather industry in India was investing in primary effluent treatment plants at all tanneries followed-up by larger commual secondary treatment facilities based around tannery clusters located throughout the country.
