Bengal's Leather Associations protest Centre's cattle-trade policy, seek Didi's intervention

Senior members of Bengal's Leather Associations, at a press conference on Sunday, said that they would seek Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's intervention against the Centre's notification banning cattle trade for slaughter in open markets.

Terming the notification as a 'death certificate for the leather industry' Imran Ahmed Khan, General Secretary, Calcutta Leather Complex Tanners Association said, "Thousands of crores are at stake. We will write to the CM on Monday to bring our plight to the Centre's notice. If they don't roll back the notification, we might have to move the Supreme Court and stage a protest. We are also in talks with the members of All India Council of Leather Exports for a nationwide protest. We might also initiate talks with national-level political parties, which oppose BJP's policies."

According to Khan already about 100 units at Calcutta Leather Complex in South 24 Parganas have been shut down and about 4,000 people have been rendered unemployed. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under his Make in India initiative, had set a target of $27 billion turnover from the leather industry by 2020. At present, the industry accounts for $13 billion. Given the present condition, PM's target will be far from being met," Khan said.

"We are yet to recover from the effects of demonetisation. GST will hit us soon with additional taxes. And now, if this notification comes to effect, we will have to look for importing leather for meeting our customers' demands. If this happens, not only will the price of leather goods escalate, but quality will also get hampered. We will crumble under pressure from China and Pakistan," Gopal Naredi, President, Council of Leather Exports (CLE), said.

Md Zia Nafis, Panel Convenor, CLE, said that the leather industry in Bengal depended upon 50 per cent of buffalo leather and 27 per cent cow leather.