Garment workers celebrate daylong festival

A festive mood was abuzz in the air of Narayangonj since early morning on Friday. Two days after the victory day celebrations, thousands of garment workers thronged at the Osmani Stadium to celebrate the second garment workers festival. The daylong cultural programmes provided the workers with an apt opportunity to seek relief from the unimaginable work pressure that they are burdened with. Above all, it gave them a voice which members of the proletariat class lack as media, print or electronic, are dominated these days by the interests of the upper tiers of society.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the country’s biggest foreign currency-earning industry, organised the festival participated by workers of various knitwear garment factories across the country.
State minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku inaugurated the programme at 9:00am while Local government, rural development and cooperatives minister Syed Ashraful Islam and labour and employment minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain were present at the closing session as special guests.
BKMEA president Mohammad Fazlul Haque, first vice president Abdur Rashed, second vice president MA Baset, vice president Zahidul Haque Dipu and director and festival organising committee chairman Fazle Shamim Rahman were, among others, present at the programme.
State minister for home affairs said that the garment owners and workers should build up a friendly atmosphere for work.
‘The owners will establish a garment and the workers will increase its production, both quarters being bound in a harmonious relationship. But the owners must pay proper attention to the rights of the workers,’ he added.
Beginning with the national anthem sung by the workers of Fakir Apparels Ltd., the programmes included patriotic songs, folk songs, zari songs, solo and group dances, short plays, a magic show and a fashion show.
Workers of Viyellatex Garments, Knitwear Concern and Dekko Knitwear presented the chorus ‘Mago bhabna keno’. But the solo song of Ashraful Islam of Inter Stock Apparels earned the cheering applause of the audience.
Pacific Sweaters’ Anika presented a solo dance while Kabir and his troupe of Fakir Apparels presented a group dance. Dekko Knitwear’s Pinky made the audience cheer joyously with her solo song ‘Antar jale re’.
The organisers arranged a daylong fair, featuring different local games, including elephant and monkey games, lathi khela, putul nach, merry-go-round, bioscope and exhibition and sale of different traditional potteries.
The main attraction of the closing session was the music concert by Balam and Shahnaz Belly, which the audience enjoyed very much.

Courtesy of NewAgebd