Kolkata’s hellhole

Where the drain water is visible and not choked by solid waste, it is either dull red with blood, dyes or chromium or shines in grimy bubbles Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

Tanneries often do not pre-treat waste before sending it to the common effluent treatment plant. Last year, the state pollution control board issued closure notices to 18 tanneries. These were violating standards for Ph level, total suspended solids and chromium. On several occassions, the tanners' association has been fined Rs 20 lakh for non-compliance Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

Leather shavings and trimmings—end products of finished leather—are dumped on the roadside next to the ecologically sensitive Ramsar site of East Kolkata Wetlands Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

Constant nausea and burning in the eyes are common among workers. Very few units supply them with protective gloves, boots or masks. Despite Supreme Court orders, there is no hospital yet for the 12,000 workers. Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

Illegal units operating outside burn and boil the leather trimmings to make fertilizer and fish feed. “The chromium used in processing leather can leach into the ground water, polluting the East Kolkata Wetlands,” a 2009 inspection report from the union ministry of environment stated Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

In 1995, the Supreme Court ordered 538 polluting tanneries operating in the heart of the Kolkata to relocate to the outskirts. The tanneries relocated to Bantala, 20 km away, but 17 years later it's business as usual Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

Storm water drains inside the leather complex choked with solid waste Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

There is no solid waste treatment facility inside the leather complex. Hence the crude burning and boiling outside. After repeated complaints from the IT firm Cognizant, some of the solid waste is now being sent to Haldia, 130 km away Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

The 1,100 acre (one acre equals 0.4 hectare) Calcutta Leather Complex in Bantala opened in 2005. Now it's a living hell with untreated effluents flowing all over and solid waste choking storm water drains. In what is an instance of bizzare planning, in 2006 the government of West Bengal opened an Information Technology complex right inside it Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

In its first ever environment audit, the Comptroller and Auditor General rapped the state and Central authorities for failing to relocate the leather complex properly. “The project failed to achieve its stated objective of ensuring safe disposal of industrial effluent and solid waste from tanneries, causing immense damage to environment,” observed the CAG report Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt

Inside the walled units, workers use a host of chemical processes to treat leather, but without even the bare minimum protection of gloves. There are 308 tanneries operating at the leather complex Photograph by: Sayantan BeraRead story: Stink in the leather belt