Close factories using tannery waste: HC
The High Court (HC) yesterday directed authorities concerned of the government to immediately stop operation of poultry and fish feed factories across the country that use hazardous tannery waste for producing feed, and to submit a report to it in a month after complying with the directive.
The court also issued a notice asking six government high officials to show cause by April 9 why contempt of court proceedings should not be brought against them for not stopping the operation of poultry and fish feed factories in line with its earlier order.
The six officials are: secretaries to the ministries of industries, commerce, food, health and fisheries, and livestock and the inspector general of police.
The HC came up with the order after hearing a petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB).
The bench of Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Md Ashraful Kamal also fixed May 12 for passing further order on this issue, HRPB's lawyer Advocate Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star.
The HRPB recently submitted the petition as a supplementary to its earlier writ petition upon which the HC in 2011 ordered respondents to stop operation of poultry and fish feed factories.
Manzill said HRPB had filed the petition in July 2010 following a report published in The Daily Star titled “Toxic poultry feed poses health risk”.
The HC on July 21, 2011 directed authorities to stop operation of poultry and fish feed factories within a month, and to prepare guidelines in two months to monitor use of tannery waste in producing feed.
On April 9, 2017, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld the HC directive.
But, the HC directives were not fully implemented, Advocate Manzill said, adding that Bangla daily Shomoyer Alo on March 25 this year published a report saying that poultry and fish feed is being produced with waste of tanneries in Savar.
HRPB filed the supplementary writ petition with the HC annexing the report published by Shomoyer Alo.
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