Gazipur Factory Blaze
Probe bodies fail to submit reports in time
The four separate committees formed to investigate the fire in the garment factory of Standard Group at Konabari in Gazipur have been allowed time to submit their reports after they missed the deadlines to do so. Three of the four committees are yet to make any significant progress in the investigation as the current political unrest is hindering the probes, said officials concerned.
Only one committee headed by the additional district magistrate of Gazipur has made progress in the investigation and it hopes to submit its report by next week.
Standard Group, the largest apparel producers, of the country is fully compliant. Its buyers include international brands like Eagle, GAP, Zara, Tommy Hilfiger, Kohl’s, Sears, Abercrombie and Fitch and Gymboree.
Several hundred miscreants attacked and set fire to the factory on November 28 after rumours spread that two workers were killed in police firing.
After the fire, the government formed three separate investigation committees and Fire Service and Civil Defence launched a departmental probe into the blaze.
The home ministry’s investigation committee, led by additional secretary Moinuddin Khandaker, was set up on December 1 and asked to submit its report in seven working days.
The committee was given time to complete the investigation after it failed to submit its report in time.
‘Spot visit is a precondition for the investigation but the committee could not visit the factory due to frequent strikes and blockades,’ Moinuddin told New Age on Thursday.
The government has extended the time and the committee will try to complete its work in the shorted possible time, he said.
The labour ministry’s committee, headed by its deputy secretary Aminul Islam, was formed in the first week of December. It was also asked to submit report in seven days.
‘The authorities have given the committee until December 22 to submit report but it would not be possible for it to do so even by the extended deadline as we need more visits to the site,’ Aminul told New Age.
He said that the investigation was being hindered by the ongoing political turmoil as committee members were unwilling to go to the factory area amid strikes and blockades.
‘We have visited the spot twice and held two meetings but need more visits and interrogations to find out the reason,’ Aminul said.
Fire Service and Civil Defence deputy director Jaharul Amin told New Age that they were supposed to submit their report in 15 days but they could not to do so as the factory authorities had failed to provide the committee with necessary documents.
Political unrest also hindered the investigation, he said.
Jaharul said that they were trying to make an assessment of the losses in the fire for which they had asked the factory management to provide some necessary documents.
Time was extended for the probe after the factory authorities sought one month to provide the documents, he added.
After the fire, Gazipur district administration formed a seven-member inquiry team headed by additional district magistrate Mohammad Mohsin asking it to report in seven working days.
Mohsin told New Age that they had got a 10-day time extension after the seven-day deadline was over on December 17.
‘The committee has made significant progress and now we are in the final stage of the investigation,’ he said.
Mohsin said that political unrest could not affect their probe and the committee visited the factory six times.
He hoped that the committee would submit its report by the end of the next week.
-With New Age input
