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Savar death toll rises to 938

Admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:39:16 +0000

Rescue team recovered at least 61 more bodies from the debris of collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar on Thursday, raising the death toll in the disaster to 938 on the 16th day of the incident.
Of the recovered corpses, 665 were handed over to the families while 98 have been kept on Savar Adhar Chandra Model High School ground. Confirming the death toll and body handover, Army control room said 61 more decomposed bodies were recovered.
Earlier, fire fighters, Red Crescent men, led by Army, recovered 115 more bodies from the debris from 6:00am Wednesday to 6:00am Thursday.
Rescuers feared that more bodies still remained trapped under the collapsed building.
Seventy-nine unidentified bodies so far, after taking DNA samples, have been buried at Jurain Graveyard so that family members of the dead can later find them.
Most of the bodies recovered on Thursday were decomposed and beyond recognition.
A total of 2,437 people have been rescued alive so far from the rubble of the building. Of them, nine succumbed to their injuries at different hospitals.
The 2nd phase of the rescue operation using heavy equipment continued for the 10th consecutive day today (Thursday).
Meanwhile, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 9th Infantry Division Major General Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardi, who is coordinating the rescue operation, at a press briefing said the 2nd phase rescue operation might be completed within two days.
The eight-storey building came down crashing on April 24.

-With The Independent input

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Savar death toll crosses 700

Admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 05:24:58 +0000

Rescuers on Tuesday found more bodies from the debris of the collapsed Rana Plaza, taking the death toll to 715. According to sources, 552 bodies have already been handed over to victims’ families, while 42 have been kept in the Savar Adhar Chandra Model High School playground. Some of the bodies are now at the morgues of Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Salimmullah Medical College Hospital. The rest were buried at the city’s Jurain graveyard. A number of people were seen waiting in front of the collapsed building, holding placards with photographs of their near and dear ones. So far, 2,437 people have been rescued from the rubble. Of them, nine succumbed to their injuries in different hospitals.
The rescue work may continue for another week. The second phase of the rescue operation, deploying heavy equipment, continued for the eighth successive day on Tuesday. Members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Fire Service and the Red Crescent Society are carrying out this phase of the rescue operation.
Readymade garment (RMG) workers who survived the Rana Plaza collapse, along with relatives of the dead workers, blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Savar for nearly two hours on Tuesday morning, demanding payment of dues and perks. The blockade was withdrawn at around 12 noon after Sheikh Yusuf Harun, deputy commissioner of Savar, assured them that their dues would be paid at the Bish Mile army ground from 3 pm.
Savar model police station inspector Aminur Rahman said traffic remained suspended suspended on the highway during the blockade.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA) had assured the RMG workers that their dues would be paid within May 7. However, at a press briefing on Monday, the apex apparel lobby said it would not be able to clear the dues on Tuesday as they were yet to get the complete list of workers.
Atiqul Islam, president of the BGMEA, said they have received the list of workers of only two factories, out of the five that were housed in the collapsed building. He added that the dues would be paid after they get the list of the people working at the three other factories. Of the two factories, New Wave Apparels had 1,543 workers and New Wave Bottoms 598.
Shafiqul Islam, quality inspector of New Wave Bottoms, told The Independent: “The BGMEA is trying to wash its hands of its responsibility by paying only one month’s salary. But we want four months’ pay and other perks under the layoff facilities entitled under the rules. Workers of the Tazreen Fashions received their entire benefits after the factory was burnt to ashes last year.”

-With The Independent input

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Savar death toll rises to 554

Admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:04:58 +0000

Rescuers sifting through the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza, on Saturday, recovered 20 more bodies from the debris, and, with this, the death toll from the tragic incident rose to 554.
The tragedy struck the eight-storey building on April 24. Recounting the search operation, officer-in-charge of Savar Model Police Station Asaduzzaman, on Saturday, said that 30 more bodies had been recovered from the ill-fated building. Of the recovered bodies, 444 bodies had handed over to their families, while the rest have been kept at the Savar Adhar Chandra Model High School ground, and at the morgues of Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Salimullah Medical College and Hospital.
The search operation’s second phase continued for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday.
The members of Army, Navy, Air Force, Fire Service and Red Crescent Society are taking part in the operation, that began on Tuesday midnight. Heavy-duty cranes, cameras and trained dog squads have been pressed into service.
During search operation, concrete slabs are being removed one by one and the debris was dumped at the Bongshi River, by trucks.
Confusion continues over the exact number of people still missing.
Bangladesh Army has rubbished the allegations of ‘hiding’ bodies of those killed in the building collapse, and described such claims as ‘unfortunate’.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also dismissed such allegations, saying that relatives and friends of those missing and media persons are present at the site, all the time.
Even on Saturday, many people were seen waiting in front of the collapsed building in search of their near and dear ones, with their photographs.
The huge structure came crashing down suddenly on April 24. Most of the victims were workers employed in the five ready made garment factories on the upper floors of the building.
Meanwhile, reputed weekly the Economist said, many other rickety factories have undoubtedly been built as Bangladesh scrambles to meet a boom in demand for its garments.
About the impact of the Savar incident on country’s RMG industry the magazine in an article published on May 2 said, the industry is worth some $20 billion, nearly double its size in January 2011 when the European Union relaxed its trade rules to allow the poorest countries to import fabric (rather than produce it domestically) to be stitched into garments that are sold duty-free in the EU.
“As production shifts from China, Bangladesh expects to become the world’s largest exporter of clothing. Buyers are unlikely to abandon it. Some firms linked to the Savar disaster have promised compensation for victims. The EU says it will push for higher standards. America, which had also been negotiating duty-free access for Bangladeshi goods, had already insisted on better conditions.
Bangladesh’s main advantage is its low cost. Labour is desperately cheap: the monthly minimum wage of 3,000 taka ($38) is less than a fifth of the going rate in China. The lack of environmental protection is a licence to pollute. An adviser to one foreign buyer says there are “no rules whatsoever that cannot be bent”. As a result, retailers’ margins are generous: a pair of jeans is typically produced for a quarter of its €20 ($26) European shop-price”.
Political fallout will probably be limited. Voters and the opposition soon forgot previous disasters. A fire at a Dhaka garment factory in November killed 112. Nor is Bangladesh alone in its wretched safety standards. In September a fire killed 289 in a factory in Karachi, Pakistan. In April dozens of Indians died when an illegally built residential tower tumbled in Mumbai.
Bangladesh’s garment business has growing clout. The BGMEA’s 4,000 members account for four of every five dollars earned from exports. And the industry is tied to the corrupt political system: at least 25 MPs have investments in the garment business. After the November fire, the BGMEA sent inspectors to some of its members’ factories. Four buildings had structural flaws or violated construction or labour laws. Who were the owners? The lobby group’s president, Atiqul Islam, his predecessor and a former vice-president of the association. None was prosecuted.

-With The Independent input

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