Abstract
Calcutta Leather Complex (CLC) near Bantala, Calcutta was constructed in the late 1990s. The ostensible purpose was to bring together the widely dispersed and haphazardly located tanning industry of Calcutta in a single location and to facilitate hazardous waste management by establishing a Common Effluent Treatment Plant. Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, the CLC is not yet fully operational. Further, the continued operation of illegal tanneries outside CLC has worsened matters. This study was undertaken to assess the physicochemical conditions of wastewater carrying canals within the East Calcutta Wetland (ECW) ecosystem (a Ramsar site) with special reference to the relocation of tanneries. Results revealed a great change in the values for physicochemical conditions; most changes were statistically significant (p < 0.05) when compared with available data, previous to tannery relocation. Moreover, the amelioration efficiency of ECW ecosystem was found to be mostly disturbed both by the illegal tannery operations and shifting of tannery agglomerates.
Acknowledgments
The authors are thankful for the infrastructural support provided by the Director of Public Instruction and the Director of Technical Education, Government of West Bengal, India. The authors also express their kindest thanks to CSIR for providing necessary funds. The authors would also like to thank the learned anonymous reviewers for their painstaking evaluation of the manuscript, comments and suggestions and the Editor Dr Michael Brett-Crowther for his sustained goodwill and patience.