From correspondents in Uttar Pradesh, India, 10:31 AM IST

Leather tanneries in Agra, accused of polluting the environment and causing health hazards to city dwellers, are in trouble after a court issued notices asking why they have not been shifted to a safer area.

The Allahabad High Court has issued notices to Agra district authorities to explain why the tanneries have not been moved from the city's Khatikpara area.

Some 65 tanneries have been targeted in a petition filed by the Adarsh Khatik Samaj Sewa Samiti. Last month civic and Pollution Control Board officials visited the area, sparking a major showdown that led them to withdraw.

The high court has issued notices to the commissioner, district magistrate, senior superintendent of police, officials of Agra Development Authority and the pollution control board.

Environmentalists have long been demanding shifting of these tanneries to a safer site, away from urban areas, so that the effluents can be treated before these are released into the river.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)