The government-set review committee has recently closed a garment factory temporarily structural fault and asked its authorities to demolish the top floor of the building that was constructed illegally. The committee also reviewed two more factories and asked their owners to conduct Detailed Engineering Analysis immediately, people close to the factory inspection programme told New Age on Tuesday.
Recently, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a platform of North American buyers, and Accord on Fire and Building Safety, a platform of EU retailers, have sent the names of three factories to the review committee where the retailers group had found structural faults.
Following the recommendation made by the Alliance, the review committee on Saturday visited the factory named Maggie and Liz located in Chittagong.
The committee also reviewed two more factories located at Savar on Tuesday as per the recommendation made by the Accord.
‘We have asked the Maggie and Liz authorities to demolish the top floor of the seven-storey factory building that is threat to the structural safety as the floor was constructed illegally,’ Syed Ahmed, inspector general of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment, told New Age on Tuesday.
He said the authorities had been asked to remove the floor with propping so that no accident could take place during the demolishing work.
The review committee comprising representatives from the government, Accord, Alliance, BUET and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association recommended
the factory should resume the production after pulling out the unauthorised floor, Syed said.
‘The review committee did not find any immediate risk in the two more factories located at Savar that have been reviewed as per the recommendation of the Accord,’ he said.
According to Syed, also the chairperson of the review committee, the authorities of one factory named Sisal Composite Ltd has been asked to remove water tank from the rooftop and to conduct DEA within short time.
The authorities of another factory, Adron Knitwear, have also been asked to conduct DEA soon, he said.
But none of them has been asked to suspend their production, he added.
‘The Adron Knitwear remained closed since Eid-ul-Azha due to the change of ownership, not for the inspection,’ Syed said.
After the Rana Plaza building collapse last year that killed more than 1,100 people, mostly garment workers, the global buyers formed the Alliance and Accord to improve safety in the Bangladeshi RMG factories.
Alliance completed its preliminary safety inspection of 587 units listed by it while the Accord inspected 1,106 factories.
During the inspection five were closed and 11 were partially closed as per the recommendation while 24 factories were closed and 8 were partially closed following the recommendation made by the Accord.
-With New Age input
