Despite missing eight deadlines for relocation since January last year, and the High Court directive being issued in 2009 on tannery owners to move the factories from Hazaribagh to Savar, leaders of Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) say they need more time to fully relocate their factories to Savar, as facilities there are still incomplete. When approached by The Independent over yesterday’s High Court order to shutdown all tanneries in the capital’s Hazaribagh, Shakawat Ullah, general secretary of BTA, said they would move to the Supreme Court seeking more time to shift their tanneries from Hazaribagh to Savar.
“We need some time to fully relocate the tanneries from Hazaribagh as the relocation place (Savar) is yet to become fully ready for proper functioning of the factories,”  he said. In response to a query, he said among the 154 tanneries, 44 have already shifted to Savar while 50 other are under process of relocation.
Mizanur Rahman, Vice-chairman of BTA, said that the chairman of BTA is currently abroad.  “After holding a meeting of our association, we will take decision on filing the appeal against the HC order,” he added.