More than 400 workers of a garments factory, located in Jamgorah area of the Ashulia Industrial belt in Savar, were hospitalised on Sunday, with stomach disorders, after they drank contaminated water from a tap inside the factory. Doctors suspect that
the workers of Rose Dresses Limited had fallen sick,after drinking water from a reserve tank of the factory.
On receiving information, local people immediately took the workers to the local Women and Child Health Hospital. As the number of sick workers multiplied, they were taken to Enam Medical College, Nightingale Medical College & Hospital, and other local hospitals in Ashulia and Savar.
The incident took place a day after more than 115 workers of the same factory, owned by Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), had to be hospitalised, after having food served by the factory authorities on Friday night.
Abdus Sattar, assistant deputy director of Ashulia Industrial Police, told The Independent, “Around 6,000 workers work here. Two of the sick workers, who had food poisoning, were released on Saturday. The factory authorities have kept the factory closed on Sunday.”
Some of the ailing workers alleged that there were not enough ambulances and microbuses to take them to hospitals.
Local residents and other garments workers damaged some windowpanes of the factory, after they failed to find transportation to take the sick workers to hospitals. The industrial police rushed to the scene, and fired teargas shells and rubber bullets, to bring the situation under control, leaving 20 people injured.
Our Ashulia correspondent reports that one garments worker was admitted to Enam Medical College Hospital, with bullet wounds.
Ashulia Industrial Police director Mostafizur Rahman said, “The police had no option but to fire rubber bullets. One worker has sustained bullet injuries.”
A large contingent of industrial police has been deployed in the area, to prevent any untoward incident, he added.
An ailing worker, admitted in Enam Medical College Hospital, said some of the workers, who fell sick on Friday, had drunk water from the factory’s reservoir.
But, the authorities did not pay heed to the problem, she alleged.
BGMEA president Atiqul Islam told The Independent, “We’ve already sent water samples to International Centre for Diarrhoea Disease Research (ICDDRB), Bangladesh, for examination. We’re really sorry for this incident. We’ll bear the cost of medical treatment for every worker.”
Dr Mosharraf Hossain, health and family planning of Savar Thana, told The Independent that a three-member probe committee, headed by Savar Thana medical officer, Dr Rownak Jahan Urmi, had been formed, to investigate the incident. The other members are assistant health inspector Dr Selina Nasrin and health assistant Mohammad Osman.
The committee has been asked to file its report within seven days.
Earlier, on June 5 and June 19, more than 2,000 workers of two garments factories in Gazipur had fallen sick, after drinking contaminated water.
-With The Independent input
