Warns LGRD minister Syed Ashraful Islam
The LGRD and cooperatives minister, Syed Ashraful Islam, on Sunday said that all apparel units would be closed if any incidents such as the Rana Plaza collapse or fire in Tazreen Fashions Ltd took place again. ‘We may absorb the shock of the Rana Plaza collapse. But the apparel sector will be ruined if one more incident such as the Rana Plaza collapse or r Tazreen Fashions fire takes place,’ Ashraful said at a press conference at the office the Awami League president at Dhanmondi.
Asharful, also the Awami League’s general secretary, made the remarks as the government and apparel manufacturers and exporters are facing a growing pressure after the collapse of Rana Plaza, which housed five clothing factories. The building collapse has left At least 626 people, mostly apparel workers, dead by Sunday evening.
One hundred and twelve people were killed in the Tazreen Fashions fire at Ashulia in November 2012.
‘The government will close down apparel factories if any such incidents take place there. international buyers will not import any apparel products from Bangladesh if a single such incident takes place,’ he said.
Citing an example of the closure of clothing factories in East London, he said that although more than 2.5 lakh workers, including 35,000 Bangladeshis, worked in East London factories, there is no factory there in the place now.
‘The apparel sector has grown for a certain period. In the current phase, our factories are growing. We are now the second largest apparel exporters behind China. We hope to surpass China. But this sector will not exist if any deadly incidents take place,’ he said.
Asking the apparel factory owners to take steps to head off such incidents, he suggested that the owners should relocate their factories from multi-storey to single-storey buildings.
‘There is more risk of fire and collapse if factories are set up in eight- and nine- storey buildings. More than 90 per cent factories in the world are set up in single-storey buildings,’ Ashraful said.
Urging Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association leaders to work out a long-term plan for the development of the industry, the minister said that it was true that the owners were riding in luxurious vehicles but they are not paying their workers properly.
-With New Age input
