A rally organised by the Bangladesh Environment Movement (BEM) in Hazaribagh, Dhaka, has put greater pressure on the government to act over the problem of pollution from tanneries in the area. The protest was arranged by BEM in co-operation with the Coalition for the Urban Poor (CUP). Speakers at the event demanded the relocation of the existing tanneries to a suitable place outside the Dhaka city area to allow for a proper pollution treatment system.

Presided over by the CUP’s executive director Dr Rafique Uddin Ahmed, the protest aimed to push the government to move on the issue. The environment minister of Bangladesh, Shahjahan Siraj, said in January of this year that the government is close to a decision to shift tanneries away from Dhaka as part of a plan to improve the environment around the city (see leatherbiz.com January 29, 2002: "Government of Bangladesh considers relocation of Dhaka tanneries to save Buriganga river")

Environmental problems have long been a feature of the tanneries in the Hazaribagh area, where there is also a College of Leather Technology. It is alleged that due to the pollution local residents have been suffering from various ailments.