Closure of tanneries in Kanpur brings environmental and employment concerns to a head
An overpowering smell of chemical and contamination, made worse by the still summer air, hangs over the riverside slum of Budhiaghat in Kanpur.
“I will kill myself if anyone shows me one drop of black water falling into the Ganga because of my work. The river belongs to everyone,” says Kishwari, a resident. The work she refers to falls under leather trade—the district’s most famous industry that is over a century old. More than seven months after the government initiated a major clampdown, prompted by the high levels of river pollution the industry was creating, loss of livelihood has brought the misery of the kind never reported before.
While the industry involves a trade of many parts, the government’s anti-pollution measure is focused on tanning, which is the treatment and preparation of rawhide for manufacturing. Tanning requires large amounts of water and several chemicals, the most significant of which is chromium. When pumped back into rivers, it makes the water and soil toxic and aquatic life unsustainable. In Kanpur’s Jajmau area and its neighboring district of Unnao, where most of the state’s tanneries are sited, the level of chromium in water has been persistently found to be much higher than the acceptable limit of 0.05mg/liter.
The ‘Status of Trace and Toxic Metals in Indian Rivers’, a 2018 report of the water resources ministry that cited the above limit, notes: “It [chromium] can cause allergic reactions, such as skin rash... respiratory problems... lung cancer and death.”
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 04, 2019-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der August 04, 2019-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
There Is A Wind Blowing Against The BJP, And It Will Only Pick Up Speed
Interview - Akhilesh Yadav, Former Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
Between hospital and home
Transitional care centres can add a lot to India's health care system
EFFORT VS EFFECT
The government's attempts to ensure quality drugs is evident, but how well new policies can be monitored on the ground remains to be seen
A way to let go of fear
Accepting the use of adult diapers is a journey with various stages-denial, concealment, rejection and reluctance
Mandeeps & a miracle
Two strangers, one deadly disease and an act of kindness. How Mandeep Mann saved Mandeep Singh, an acute leukaemia patient, by donating his stem cells
The A, B, C of cosmetic surgery
Between eight to 10 lakh cosmetic surgeries happen in India every year. Who is an ideal candidate, and what are the risks and results you can expect?
Vaccines and meningitis
In sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and encompassing the northern part of Nigeria, there exists a region known as the African Meningitis Belt (AMB).
Celebrating diversity and inclusivity
As Indians battle it out in our nation's 18th general election, it is again time for voters to reflect on the \"Idea of India\"-or rather, on two duelling ideas of India that are now before us and between which the nation must choose at the ballot box.
Defendant: an Hermès handbag
When Hermès was hit with a class-action lawsuit last month for \"antitrust\" activities, it didn't see it coming. Most of the luxury world has all eyes on this suit, filed by two interested consumers who claim they were denied a purchase, and whether it would go to trial.
A legacy, bound
Amal Allana's biography of her father, Ebrahim Alkazi, is as much personal as it is historical