Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board has directed the tannery owners in the city to shut shops for 15 days in the wake of the 'Megh Mela' festival.
It was mutually decided to shut the tanneries of the city till Mahashivratri in a meeting last night, so that the effluents from the shops do not pollute Ganga river and harm the devotees, T U Khan, Kanpur regional director of UPPCB told PTI.
The closure will take place in phases starting from today, he said.
Megh Mela is described as a mass convergence of pilgrims from different places where devotees throng Ganga river to take a holy bath on the occasion of 'Paush Pournima' which has kicked off from today.
The tanneries will remain close till January 5 for 'Paush Pournima', January 18 to 20 for 'Mauni Avasya' and January 22 to 24 for 'Basant Panchami', February 1 to 3 for 'Magh Pournima' and February 15 to 17 for Mahashivratri, Khan said.
The tannery owners represented by Imran Siddhiqui, director of Jajmau Tanneries Environmental Protection Association have given us in writing that work will be stopped three days before 'Paush Pournima', he said.
Siddhiqui said that the owners respected the festival and thus have decided to shut business.
The estimated loss for this period is about Rs 350 crore as large quantity of goods from Europe and Malasiya will be pending, he said.
Khan said that surprise checks will be conducted on the tanneries during these days and if any one is found to have opened his tannery, necessary action will be taken.
There are 350 tanneries in the city employing around 20,000 workers.
