The Maha Kumbh in Allahabad starting next month could spell trouble for lakhs of workers, tanners and meat and leather exporters if the Centre fails to convince the UP government to roll back its decision to close all tanneries in the region for three months beginning Saturday.

“The Commerce Ministry has written to the UP Chief Secretary advising against the three-month blanket ban, which it feels is illogical as the holy bath takes place only on certain days. The leather and meat industries in UP stand to lose business worth several thousand crores of rupees and there will be large-scale job losses if the ban is not revoked,” a government official told BusinessLine . The Yogi Adityanath government, which has ordered shut all tanneries in Kanpur and Unnao from December 15, however, has so far turned a deaf ear to appeals from both the Centre and the industry.

Past practice

The Commerce Ministry had suggested that the State follow the past practice of closing the tanneries only three-four days at a time before the days assigned for the holy bath and allowing them to function on other days.

“The combined leather and leather goods export and domestic sale from Kanpur and Unnaois around ₹2,000 crore a month, each. So, the impact on turnover for three months will be around ₹12,000 crore, which could be crippling. About three lakh labourers are engaged in the leather industry which means that many families would not have any income during the period,” said Taj Alam, President, UP Leather Industries Association.

The meat processing industry in the region, too, would be hit as it would not be able to dispose of hide and other by-products if the tanneries are closed. “There are seven meat plants with a combined annual turnover of ₹7,000 crore. It is peak season and the ban on tanneries will seriously impede our ability to meet orders. With cut-throat competition in the global market, it will not only hit our bottomline, but also affect future business,” said Fauzan Alavi from the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association.

‘No big concern’

Ironically, the water that flows from the tanneries into the Ganga may not be even half as polluting as the untreated water that is dumped from various towns along the river, said Alam. “We treat our water thrice before it is allowed to flow into the Ganga,” Alam said. Moreover, a much of the water from the plants is diverted to Rai Barielley. “About 70 per cent of the waste water does not reach the Ganga at all and this has been shown in studies by the Local Administration and Irrigation Department,” Alavi added.