savar victim - Dhaka Mirror

Miller, Zimeray visit Savar victims

Admin — Tue, 28 May 2013 04:36:38 +0000

US Congressman George Miller and French Ambassador-at-Large for Human Rights François Zimeray Monday visited the victims of the building collapse incident in Savar, who are undergoing treatment at the Enam Medical College Hospital. Miller, a senior member of the US Congress, arrived at the hospital in the morning. He inquired about the treatment of the injured and wanted to know whether they are facing any problem. He also talked to some of the injured people who were rescued from the debris of the building.
The congressman assured them of every possible assistance regarding their treatment, especially to those who have lost their limbs. He was accompanied by US embassy staff members.
George Miller arrived in Dhaka on Saturday to personally inspect the garments factories of Bangladesh as the world’s second largest apparel exporter is now under the scanner due to frequent disasters.The US congressman will meet workers, victims, factory owners and government officials during his visit.
Miller, the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, is the first member of the Congress to visit Bangladesh since the April 24 Rana Plaza collapse that killed 1,127 people and injured over 2,500 others, making it one of the worst industrial tragedies in world history. Miller has been pressing major American companies to sign a new building and fire safety agreement. The binding and enforceable accord has already been inked by more than 31 companies worldwide.
The French Ambassador-at-Large for Human Rights, François Zimeray, who arrived in Dhaka on Monday morning, also went to the hospital, directly from the airport, to see the injured victims of the building collapse in Savar. He also inquired about the treatment of the injured, talked to the victims, consoled them and expressed his sympathy to members of the bereaved families. “It is not only the collapse of a building. It’s a collapse of the law,” said the Franch ambassador, adding that the issue will be discussed with the government and they would find out a way how to improve the situation. “Accidents may take place at any time. But such incidents should come to an end, he observed.
François Zimeray will hold meetings with the ministers concerned, senior officials and other stakeholders to assess the present labour rights situation as well as safety conditions in the RMG sector in Bangladesh. He would examine how France could support Bangladesh to improve the latter’s existing working conditions at garments factories.
Zimeray will also address human rights issues during his meeting with senior officials, human right activists, members of the civil society and other stakeholders, in the aftermath of the recently concluded Universal Periodic Review (UPR). He will also address a conference on “Human Rights in the context of Globalisation” at the Dhaka University Senate Building on Tuesday.

-With The Independent input

The post Miller, Zimeray visit Savar victims appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

While Swapna has blank look, Rozina cries

Admin — Sat, 18 May 2013 05:04:01 +0000

Swapna Akhtar, a young apparel worker and victim of the Savar Tragedy just keeps staring at the sky hour after hour through the window from her hospital bed at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. “She doesn’t want to eat any food; nor does she want to speak to anybody. She just constantly stares at the sky,” her mother-in-law Ankura Begum said of the 21-year-old now being treated at the Neurology Department of the DMCH.
Hailed from the Charbaggha village of Noakhali district, Swapna Akhtar used to work as a garment worker in one of the apparel factories housed in Rana Plaza. She was rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building three days after the terrible accident.
When an Independent correspondent visited her at the hospital on Wednesday, she appeared to be a kind of still girl with no feeling or sensation. She was not eating, not talking and kept looking just blankly at the open sky through the window.
Swapna’s mother-in-law and other members of her family suspect she has lost her memory as she hasn’t been able to recognize anybody yet since the Savar Tragedy. However, Dr. Rafique of the Neurology Department at the DMCH is hopeful about Swapna’s
recovery.
Swapna suffered a serious injury in her head. She was brought to the hospital in senseless condition. She remained without any sense for as long as five straight days and then she regained her consciousness. “She is responding to treatment and expected to recover gradually,” her physician said. Swapna is not alone who is still fighting to return to her normal life after being rescued from the rubble of the Rana Plaza. Twenty one-year-old Rozina Begum, another garment worker, has been screaming intermittently since she was admitted to the same hospital about three weeks ago.
Rozina barely sleeps and keeps screaming in short intervals from her hospital bed. “Whenever she closes her eyes, she hears voices of her co-workers crying for help to save their lives,” her husband Saju Ahmed, 30, from Narail, Jessore, quoted her as saying.
Three weeks after the fatal collapse of Rana Plaza, heavily traumatized Rozina, who was admitted to the Orthopedic Department of DMCH with broken spinal cord, still feels quite often that a huge building is coming down on them and being stuck in the middle of the debris they are crying for help, her husband said.
Like Swapna and Rozina, hundreds of Savar victims are now receiving treatment at various hospitals of the capital city, some with deep trauma and many with crippling wounds. Psychiatrists expressed their worries about the conditions of many patients and strongly stressed the need for long-term counseling for them.
Sister Gloria, a professional psychiatrist and counselor of Carlotta Centre said psychological counseling for the Savar victims is extremely important. Apparently after receiving treatment they would seem like they are OK but physical treatment is not good enough. “Their mental scars are more serious,” she added. Brigadier Mostafizur Rahman, director of DMCH said they have already arranged counseling for some of the Savar victims. Seven patients who are seriously mentally sick have been singled out for counseling by professional counselors and clinical psychiatrists from Dhaka University.

-With The Independent input

The post While Swapna has blank look, Rozina cries appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

PM receives Tk 10.14cr donation Sunday

Admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 05:31:45 +0000

More organisations and individuals donated cheques worth over Tk 10.14 crore to the Prime Minister’s Relief and Welfare Fund on Sunday for assisting the families of those killed and injured in the tragic ‘Rana Plaza’ collapse on April 24. PM’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told reporters that Sheikh Hasina received cheques worth Tk 10,14,40,721 from 38 different organisations and individuals at her office.
Of the amount, Army Welfare Fund donated the highest amount of Tk 4 core, Agrani Bank Ltd Tk 2.56 crore, BGB, Dhaka Tk 1,03,76,355, Bangladesh Navy Central Welfare Fund Tk 50 lakh, Bangladesh Ansar Tk 40 lakh, Air Force Central Non-public Fund Tk 35 lakh, BHBFC (House Building) Tk 25 lakh, BSMMU Tk 13,37,332.
BIRDEM Hospital, Provati Insurance Company Ltd, China-Bangladesh Ceramics Industries Ltd, Monjur Quader, and Moazzem Hossain of Hossaf Group donated Tk 10 lakh each to the PM’s Relief and Welfare Fund.
In response, the Prime Minister expressed her gratitude to the donors saying that her government has extended all necessary support and assistance to the families of the victims following the ‘Rana Plaza’ collapse in Savar.

-With The Independent input

The post PM receives Tk 10.14cr donation Sunday appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

Savar survivor Arati stares into a bleak future

Admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:02:56 +0000

Fourteen-year-old Arati Rani Dhar was seething in pain on her bed at the Enam Medical College Hospital. Bandaged, her right leg has been amputated from below the knee.
She has survived, but lost one of her vital limbs.
Suffering severe trauma, she screamed: “What sin have I committed that I’ve to bear this pain. Oh God, take me away.”
Arati is one of the 2,400 plus survivors of last week’s building collapse at Savar. The eight-story Rana Plaza, housing five garment factories, gave way. The worst-ever industrial disaster killed her mother, also a co-worker, and more than 500 others.
The tragedy shattered her dream of supporting her family with the little sum she earned stitching clothes for Western retailers. She had to conceal her age to get the job. She wanted to provide for the education of her three sisters, wallowing in abject poverty at the remote Natun Naogaon village in Baniachang upazila of north-eastern Habiganj.
Rescuers pulled her out from under the rubble three days after the building crumbled. Physicians preferred to amputate the right leg, which was stuck under a concrete block for more than 72 hours.
Arati and her mother used to work on the sixth floor along with 400 others, who she believes have either perished or have been maimed for life like her.
A series of factory disasters in recent years have exposed poor workplace safety in Bangladesh and caused a serious hue and cry across the globe. The lingering issue is becoming a problem for the Bangladesh industry and Western companies, concerned that consumers will become worried that clothes are made in unsafe conditions.
Bangladesh is under pressure to meet international labour standards for its garment industry, which accounts for 79 per cent of the country’s export earnings, and accommodates more than 3.5 million workers, mostly women.
Arati’s youngest sister, Akhi Dhar, 2, was crying looking for their mother.
“How can I console my sister? She wants mother to comfort her.”
Arati has two more sisters—five-year-old Lucky and seven-year-old Lovely—who were staying with their father, Adhir Dhar, a poor day-labourer, at their rented Savar hut near the local Girls’ High School. Adhir is now left without the twin supplementary income of his wife and eldest daughter.
“Had I left for my village home when I lost my job at the Polo garment factory as I was underage, I would not have faced this situation,” Arati said with tears rolling down her cheeks. The Polo factory fired her when the authorities found that she was below 18, the age when a person is allowed to work as a factory worker.
Arati said she got the job at Rana Plaza on condition that she would state her age as 18. Her salary was Tk. 7,000 (USD 87) per month, which included overtime hours—working between 8 am to 10 pm—with a lunch-break.
She was also told that if any ethical standard officer from Western buyers or other big companies enquired about her age, she should say 18, as the factory authorities provided her with an identity card that said she is not underage.
She remembers that a power outage occurred immediately before the building collapsed. “I heard everyone screaming, crying for help as the structure caved in.” Sultana Kamal, executive director of the rights organisation, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), criticised the working conditions at the garment industry. Workers’ safety is hardly taken care of compared to the profit the garment makers earn. The Western consumers are satisfied with the low cost. They work like slaves without any basic rights under the law, the rights defender said, calling for improving their working conditions for better performance, including right to trade union.

-With The Independent input

The post Savar survivor Arati stares into a bleak future appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

Burial money of Savar victim looted

Admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 13:58:41 +0000

Robbers looted the cash given to a family member of a Savar tragedy victim for her burial here in Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur, while they were returning home with the body on Saturday early hours, rescued on the 10th day of the accident. The deceased was identified as Khadiza Begum, 30, wife of Younus Ali of Taznagar village under Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur district.The authority handed over the body to the family members paying off Tk 30,000 for her burial. As they arrived near Ershad bridge under Badarganj upazila of Rangpur a group of robbers attacked their hired microbus at around 2.30am Saturday and looted Tk 30,000 given to them for the burial. The robbers also looted 5 cell phones belonging to them.

-With The Independent input

The post Burial money of Savar victim looted appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

Ershad demands compensation for Savar victim families

Admin — Sat, 04 May 2013 04:05:09 +0000

Jatiya Party (JP) Chairman Hussain Muhammad Ershad on Friday demanded due compensation to the affected families of those killed in the Savar building collapse as well as treatment and rehabilitation of the injured. “We have to take highest state of alert to prevent recurrence of such heart-rending incident. The government has to make arrangement for proper compensation to the families of those who were killed and rehabilitation of the injured,” he said.
His demand came while visiting the site of the collapsed Rana Plaza in Savar on Friday.
Ershad, the former President, arrived at Savar in the morning and talked to the people concerned about the rescue operation.
He also thanked the Bangladesh Army for conducting the rescue operation efficiently.
Later, the JP Chief also visited Enam Medical College Hospital to see those, wounded in the collapse of Rana Plaza.
He also announced to give a certain amount of money per month to some of the female garment workers who lost their working ability for their livelihood support.
Among others, Jatiya Party presidium members Kazi Jafar Ahmed and Ziauddin Bablu, Secretary General ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader MP, SMA Mannan, MP and Vice-Chairman Abdul Jabbar, MP, also accompanied Ershad.

-With The Independent input

The post Ershad demands compensation for Savar victim families appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

Savar official likely to lose job for negligence of duties

Admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 06:00:35 +0000

Kabir Hossain Sarder, upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Savar upazila under Dhaka district, is likely to lose his job on charges of gross negligence of his duties as he failed to prevent the collapse of Rana Plaza, which claimed the lives of over 390 workers and injured at least 2,500 others on April 24. The UNO had provided a ‘risk-free certificate’ to the owner of the building, Sohel Rana, even after cracks were spotted in Rana Plaza, state minister for labour and employment Monnujan Sufian told reporters a day after the building collapsed. The state minister has also urged the authorities to drop the Savar UNO from the home minister’s probe committee. As a result, the authorities have finally dropped the UNO’s name from the list of committee members.
Divisional commissioner of Dhaka division, AN Shamsuddin Azad Chowdhury, told The Independent that they will take stern action against the Savar UNO after receiving the report from the inquiry committee in this connection.
“We are looking into the matter and it has come to the notice of the highest level of the government,” he said.
Dhaka deputy commissioner (DC) Shaikh Yusuf Harun told this correspondent that they are going to take action against the UNO within a few days.
“The rescue operations are likely to be affected if we withdraw the UNO right now,” he explained.
“The UNO, who is facing allegations, is likely to be dismissed from his job on charges of gross negligence of his duties,” the DC added.
The chief of an inquiry committee and an additional secretary of the home ministry, Mainuddin Khandokar, said the committee would talk to the Savar UNO, who would be excluded from the home ministry’s probe committee.
“We will make a recommendation in our inquiry report that departmental action be taken against the UNO if we get confirmation of any negligence of his duties on his part in connection with the Rana Plaza tragedy,” he said.
Allegations have been levelled that the UNO also favoured that operations of the garments factories housed in the building would continue even after cracks were spotted in the nine-storey building.
Local people of Savar area alleged that the UNO is responsible for the tragedy. They also alleged that the UNO had misused his power and helped his relatives capture landed properties over the last few months. Information has been received that the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) served notices twice to the UNO over his alleged involvement in irregularities. Kabir Hossain Sarder, a BCS administration cadre officer, joined as UNO here 18 months ago.

-With The Independent input

The post Savar official likely to lose job for negligence of duties appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

US keen to help Savar victims

Admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 05:59:39 +0000

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed on Tuesday said, the US government has expressed their interest to help rehabilitate the victims of Savar building collapse. “We are yet to discuss about the foreign assistance regarding the Savar tragedy. We will receive foreign aid after the government’s decision,” he told reporters after a meeting with US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena at the Secretariat. The ambassador assured the law minister that the US government is ready to help the Savar victims.
Nine-storied Rana Plaza, housing five garment factories collapsed at Savar on April 24, killing nearly 400 people and rescuers pulled out about 2,500 people alive.
The law minister also said, the US ambassador has urged the government to resolve the political crisis through a dialogue. The US ambassador also met with the Food Minister Dr MA Razzaque before meeting with the law minister.
The US government also wanted to help Bangladesh to develop the food stock management. It is an essential step to stock food for the food security and needed to develop food silos, the food minister informed the ambassador.
The ambassador assured the minister that the US government can help Bangladesh providing technical support to build food stocks.

-With The Independent input

The post US keen to help Savar victims appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.

Nation prays for Savar victims

Admin — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 12:40:40 +0000

Muslim devotees across the country on Friday prayed for the salvation of the departed souls of the ill-fated people, who were crashed under collapsed building at Savar and sought early recovery of the hundreds of survivors. The Savar tragic incident that left at least three hundred garments workers killed and about 2,500 injured descended a pal of gloom throughout the country. Special doa and munazat were conducted in the mosques in the city and elsewhere in the
country after the Friday prayer.
Prof Maulana Salahuddin Ahmed, Khatib of the mosque, conducted the doa and munazat Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, opposition leader Khaleda Zia and leaders of different political parties on Thursday called upon the countrymen to conduct special prayer for the Savar victims.

Courtesy of The Independent

The post Nation prays for Savar victims appeared first on Dhaka Mirror.