Over 3.2 lakh rawhides arrive at Savar tannery estate

On the first day of Eid-ul-Adha, more than 320,000 pieces of sacrificial animal rawhide entered the Savar tannery estate, according to Sakhawat Ullah, the General Secretary of the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) and Managing Director of Salma Tannery.

This year, the Bangladesh Tanners Association has set a target of collecting one crore rawhides.

However, tannery owners and concerned individuals are apprehensive about potential damage to a significant portion of the rawhides due to rainfall, despite the favorable cool weather for preserving raw leather. Since the morning of Eid, most of the hides have become wet due to rain.

Sakhawat Ullah, the General Secretary of BTA, expressed his concerns to TBS, saying, "I observed that a substantial number of hides are being salted at the Hemayetpur farms today. If these skins are salted late and already wet due to rain, most of the rawhides will be damaged."

Addressing the issue of low bidding prices, he stated, "If the tanners are salting the hides late, how can we offer them a good price when these hides are at risk of being damaged?"

He assured that the workers at the Savar tannery estate promptly finish the salting process upon the arrival of the rawhides, ensuring minimal chances of damage.

Many hides were still seen lying outside the tanneries in Hemayetpur, and several trucks loaded with leather were drenched in the rain.

Regarding this matter, Ashraful Islam, the General Secretary of the Hemayetpur Raw Leather Traders Association, told The Business Standard that there has been a slight delay in applying salt due to a labour crisis, but the rawhides have not been damaged. Almost all the hides have already been salted, and the remaining ones will be salted shortly.

At the Savar tannery industrial city, workers were observed busy in the afternoon. While the workload was high the previous night, it has comparatively reduced now. The workers will continue in this manner for the next few days.

Approximately 60% of the demand for leather in the industry is fulfilled by the rawhides obtained from animals sacrificed during Eid-ul-Adha.

Currently, there are around 8,000 to 10,000 workers regularly involved in this industry. However, during Eid-ul-Adha, at least 3,000 workers from various parts of the country temporarily join this industry. Most of them return to their respective areas after three months of work, but some workers continue in this profession.

Abul Kalam Azad, the President of the Tannery Workers Union, stated that while the fortunes of workers in other industries in the country have changed, there has been no improvement in the conditions of workers in this industry.

He mentioned that at one point, this industry employed 25,000 to 30,000 workers, but now the number has decreased to 8,000 to 10,000 after the shift from Hazaribagh to Savar. 

"The non-operation of several tanneries and the reduced need for manual labor due to modern machinery are some key reasons behind the decline in the workforce. Furthermore, the basic needs of workers in this industry, such as housing facilities, healthcare, and construction of hospitals, remain unfulfilled. Despite being a promising industry, the health risks associated with working with harmful chemicals are still neglected for these workers," added Abul Kalam Azad.