Leather factories and tannery units - a bane to the environment

Every time when I travel back to my native village, I feel that I have let down Mother Nature. It is my hometown. No matter where I live, Iam tied to that place. That is where I was born and the place where my ancestors had lived. Today that place is in dire conditions and none of us has the courage to stop people from exploiting Nature in the worst possible way.

Thanks to Indian politics, the majestic Palar riverbed has dried up leaving no traces of the river flowing except the sand that lies on the riverbed. With the rate at which they are mining sand from the riverbed, I am sure they will wipe out the whole area in a few years. They will then construct buildings on top of this riverbed and that will be the end of the river.

After a few years, the river would be part of the history of our state and probably be a myth.

Although I would like to get on to the story of how this happened, this is not what I had intended to write today.

I wanted to write about how the leather factory has ruined the environment in the surrounding areas. I don't know who was the idiot who had first thought of building a leather factory or a tanning unit in this place.

Man is the only living being on this earth who always finds new ways of ruining the environment.

Around 80% of the leather is tanned using chrome, a highly toxic waste that is released into the riverbed during the tanning process. This toxic is directly let out to the riverbed. The damage done by these tanning units to the environment and to the people is extreme. Some of the damages caused by these leather industries and tanning units –

Pollution of water - The ground water in the neighboring villages and townships has been polluted. This includes agricultural farms, water in the river (if at all it flows), and the underground water in the villages.

Water scarcity - This has led to water scarcity since no one can use this water. The villages have to depend on the water supplied by the corporation through water pipes. If this is the case for water needed for survival, just imagine the plight of the water used for agricultural needs.

Agriculture - Since agriculture is affected, the trees have died. This area was once famous for coconut trees. Now, the trees do not yield much. Even if they yield, there are not much takers for these coconuts due to the water that was used in the farms.

Less rain, which again results in water scarcity - Since the agriculture, has taken a big hit; trees are felled, making way to buildings being constructed in the agricultural land. This has an impact on the environment. It does not rain that often these days leading to more water scarcity.

Health impact - There has been an increase in the rate of cancer that has affected the general population. It is on an all-time high. This is not just because of the polluted water but also due to the work, they do in these tanneries.

Labour and impact on agriculture - More people are lured to work in these tannery units and factories. No one wants to work in the farms any longer. They don’t understand that although the money might be good, working in these tannery units and factories leads to a lot of health issues. They breathed fresh air and had no health issues when they had worked in the farms. They do not understand the long-term hazards of working in these tanneries or leather factories. High wages and lack of people available has also affected farming leading people to sell out their agricultural lands. Again, more buildings are constructed on these farmlands.

Environmental impact - The water and soil is polluted. In addition, the atmosphere has been polluted. In the nights, you can smell the waste from these tanneries flowing in the river. The odor is nauseating. The air is also polluted – harmful gases are released into the atmosphere.

These leather factory and tannery unit owners are great people. They managed to pollute almost all the aspects of the environment – water, soil, air, atmosphere. Well done!!!  Wondering what else is in their list.

Although, the law states that the waste has to be treated before it is let out; it is hardly done. That happens only on paper. When you have greedy politicians, government officials, what else can we expect. Everyone is here to make fast money.

There have been instances where the public had complained about the water pollution. When that happened, the government officials were asked to submit a report. They took water samples from the fields for testing the water quality. On the way they had apparently taken a detour to dilute the samples with clean water before it reached the labs. That way they ensured that the samples passed whatever safety levels the government had prescribed.

Alas, man’s greed for money has no limits!!!

Whenever my parents talk fondly about our native village, they share snippets of their childhood – about how they used to play in the river bed, how water was the essence of their livelihood, how they used to drink the fresh and clean the water in the wells, I can only sigh.

The tannery unit and leather factory owners, the politicians, the government officials are all responsible for the damage that has happened to the environment.  All this for that piece of leather that one uses for a few weeks or months.

Is it really worth it??

It is ironic to see my own people walk to those factory outlets to buy the leather products for a cheap price. I have bought the leather goods in the past and feel ashamed of what I had done.