Nearly 90 per cent of the buildings in the outskirts of the capital, including Savar, have been built illegally or without authorization from the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkhya (RAJUK), said sources in the country’s capital development authority. The collapse of the eight-storied Rana Plaza in Savar on Wednesday, which claimed over 200 lives and injured around 2,000,
Month: April 2013
Death toll in Savar tragedy climbs to 314
With every tick of the clock, hope is diminishing for those who have remained trapped under the rubbles of the crumbled eight-storey building in Savar. Though the death count rose to 314 till Friday evening, rescuers said it would go up. Maj. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Suhrawardi, GOC of the 9th division, who is coordinating the rescue ... Read more
PM for quick arrest of Savar building owner
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday ordered police to immediately arrest the owner of the collapsed eight-storey Rana Plaza and the proprietors of the garment factories housed in the building in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka. The PM’s directive followed a similar order by home minister MK Alamgir. The death toll on Friday stood ... Read more
Sohel Rana, 5 others responsible for Savar ‘killing’: Probe body
The chief of an inquiry committee and additional secretary of the home ministry, Mainuddin Khandokar, stated that the owner of Rana Plaza, Sohel Rana, and the owners of five garment factories are fully responsible for the Savar tragedy that claimed the lives of over 300 workers and injured more than 2,000. After conducting an inquiry into ... Read more
HRW stresses on workers’ security
The collapse of an eight-story factory building near Dhaka shows the urgent need to improve Bangladeshi workers health and safety; Human Rights Watch, a New York-based global rights body, stated. In a statement on Thursday it also said that reforms should include a drastic overhaul of the government’s system of labour inspections and an end ... Read more
RMG units to remain shut Saturday, Sunday
The country’s trade bodies of the apparel sector on Friday decided to keep the production in all readymade garment (RMG) factories closed on Saturday and Sunday for, what they said, ensuring proper treatment and completion of rescue operation successfully. The leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh
Savar building collapse sparks workers’ agitation
Thousands of readymade garments (RMG) workers from different factories in Dhaka, Gazipur, Savar and Narayanganj vandalised more than 150 vehicles and set fire on several factories on Friday. This has left 50 workers injured. The workers took to the streets, demanding exemplary
8 orgs call strike in RMG factories for Sunday
Eight organisations of the garment workers on Friday called a daylong strike in all RMG factories across the country for Sunday in support of their seven-point demand, including the arrest of Rana Plaza and its factory owners. Prior to the work abstention, the organisations working on garment workers’ rights, will hold black-flag processions across
Hefazat calls for ouster of ‘atheist’ govt
Hefazat-e Islam leaders on Friday branded the government as atheist and demanded its ouster. “This government has strayed from the path of Islam. It has removed the clause on full confidence in Almighty Allah from the Constitution and formulated an anti-Islam women’s policy,” a leader of the Islamist organisation told a Shane Resalat rally on ... Read more
Nation prays for Savar victims
Muslim devotees across the country on Friday prayed for the salvation of the departed souls of the ill-fated people, who were crashed under collapsed building at Savar and sought early recovery of the hundreds of survivors. The Savar tragic incident that left at least three hundred garments workers killed and about 2,500 injured descended a ... Read more
Tale of survivors of their worst ordeal
Shilpi, a young apparel worker who was trapped for 36 hours under a huge pile of concrete chunks of what was once Rana Plaza in Savar never thought she would ever survive. “Since the collapse of the building on Wednesday morning, I suddenly found myself stuck among the pieces of heavy concrete all around. I ... Read more
Central body needed to implement building code: Experts
A central authority, along with Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), is needed to supervise the design of buildings and implementation of the building code in rural areas, (barring four authorities), according to experts. Sixty per cent buildings in rural areas remain vulnerable as these were constructed without following the building code or any
Nation prays for ill-fated Savar victims on Friday
Muslim devotees across the country on Friday prayed for the salvation of the departed souls of the ill-fated people, who were crashed under collapsed building at Savar and sought early recovery of the hundreds of survivors. The Savar tragic incident that left at least three hundred garments workers killed and about 2,500 injured descended a ... Read more
Nasim rebukes MKA for ‘ridiculous remarks
A senior leader of the ruling Awami League (AL), Mohammad Nasim, censured home minister MK Alamgir on Friday for making what he said were “irresponsible” remarks on the Savar tragedy, observing that such comments by a responsible minister damage the government’s image. “Please, Mr. Alamgir, don’t make such ridiculous comments for the sake
Ershad demands resignation of MK Alamgir
Chairman of Jatiya Party (JP) HM Ershad on Friday demanded the resignation of Minister for Home Affairs Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir for his “irresponsible statements” over the tragic accident of Savar building collapse that crushed at least 300 garment workers and injured another 2,500. “The statement of the Home Minister that the building collapsed as
Savar tragedy politically motivated: MK Anwar
The main opposition BNP has described the Savar high-rise collapse as a politically motivated incident, in which people were killed in a planned way. “A good number of people, including readymade garment workers, were killed in a planned way in the Rana Plaza collapse incident,” BNP leader MK Anwar said on Friday. The BNP standing ... Read more
Illegal parking blocks Sylhet city roads
Unauthorised parking lots set up occupying roads have mushroomed in the Sylhet city, aggravating city traffic congestion. The city dwellers have alleged that more than 50 such parking lots for cars, microbuses, CNG-run auto-rickshaws, rickshaws, battery-run three-wheelers and other
Nahid seeks cooperation of all to create talented people
The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, on Friday urged all sections of people to extend their helping hands alongside the government’s initiatives for developing latent talent of students. ‘We can create talented people by ensuring opportunities for the students,’ he told a function on the occasion of giving Sher-e-Bangla Smriti stipend in the auditorium
Slum dwellers to get solar street light in Rajshahi
The Rajshahi city slum dwellers are going to have improved housing and solar streets facilities. The city mayor, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, revealed this while distributing bank chaques worth Tk 2.52 crore for eco-friendly infrastructural improvement for the slum communities. Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction Project
RU summer vacation begins Sunday
Summer vacation of Rajshahi University will begin on Sunday. On the occasion of summer vacation, May Day and Buddha Purnima, the university will remain closed from 28 April to May 31, said a press release of RU public relations administration. During the vacation, halls will also