At least 1,500 out of 5,000 garment factories across the country are vulnerable to disasters because of structural problems. Most of these 1,500 buildings housing the garment factories have been built on improper structures, making them vulnerable. Some buildings have factories with shopping malls at their bases, others were raised on abandoned buildings after carrying out some repairs, and some were found to have a mix of residential flats and shops, home ministry sources said. Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) vice president Mohammad Hatem told The Independent that at least 25 to 30 per cent of garment factories are vulnerable. “This 30 per cent will have to be checked for vulnerability and these will have to be shifted to preclude any disaster like the Savar tragedy,” he told this correspondent after attending a meeting at the home ministry on Thursday. The chief of another inquiry committee and an additional secretary of the home ministry, Mainuddin Khandokar, told this correspondent that they have received complaints about cracks from 160 garment factories in the country so far. He also stated that the authorities have already closed down some vulnerable garment factories.
“If the authorities concerned do not take necessary measures to shift the garment factories from the vulnerable buildings within the shortest possible time, more tragedies are likely to occur,” he warned.
At Thursday’s meeting, it was decided that a central committee headed by labour minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju will be formed, comprising representatives from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), BKMEA, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) academics and law enforcement agencies to centrally monitor the vulnerable garment factories and recommend steps.
The meeting also decided to form sub-committees headed by the deputy commissioners (DCs) concerned and chairmen of development authorities in metropolitan cities for carrying out inspections to identify vulnerable garment factory buildings. The sub-committees will submit their reports before the central committee, advising measures for shifting the factories, if necessary.
It was also decided that another committee would be formed comprising the garment factory owners to identify the factories’ problems and submit a report before the ministry within a month, according to sources at the meeting.
The meeting also asked the chiefs of the industrial police and law enforcement and intelligence agencies to identify the people who went on the rampage over the last few days in different areas, especially in and around Dhaka city, claiming to be garment workers.
The sources said eight different teams of RAJUK will start inspections of the factories located in Dhaka and adjacent areas from Friday.
“The teams will prepare a report within two weeks after inspecting the garment factories. The report will be placed before the court,” the sources added.
The government has taken these initiatives after the collapse of Rana Plaza in Savar, which claimed 432 lives and injured over 2,500.
-With The Independent input
