Police have prevented survivors of the Rana Plaza disaster and families of the victims from holding a rally in Savar marking the fourth anniversary of Bangladesh's worst industrial disaster.
Around 500 people gathered near the spot where the multi-storey building that housed several readymade garment factories once stood.But police stepped in and thwarted their attempts to lay floral wreaths at the site and organise a rally there on Monday morning, the participants alleged.
Rana Plaza caved in on April 24, 2013 with an unknown number of people, mostly RMG workers, inside. More than 1,100 people were confirmed dead with hundreds of others suffering severe injuries.
“Local lawmaker Md Enamur Rahaman had given us permission on Sunday to make a stage for a rally at the site,” Khairul Mamun Mintu, organising secretary of Bangladesh Garments Workers Trade Union Kendra, told the Dhaka Tribune.
He claimed that police had obstructed them and that they did not find the stage they made on Sunday for the rally.
“Police have told us not to hold any rally here,” he alleged. “But we will still try to hold a rally at 4pm.”
Anwara Hossain, mother of Anwar, a deceased worker at Rana Plaza, was forcefully pushed away by the police.
She wailed and shouted at the police as they turned her away: “If you had a son, you would know my misery. On this day, on this day when my son was taken away from me, you keep me away from the one place I come to remember him.”
“This day might be just another day of duty for you, but for me this is a day when I cannot bring food to my mouth.”
Additional policemen were deployed in the area with a water cannon.
Savar’s Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Mahbubur Rahman claimed that they did not see any stage on the spot.He said police had only asked the people to “not create any chaos” and move away as the Dhaka-Aricha Highway is an important road.
“We did not have other intentions,” he clarified. “We have allowed them to place wreaths in remembrance of the victims.”
When asked about the water cannon, he claimed it was part of a “regular deployment.”
The Rana Plaza collapse on the outskirts of Dhaka drew global attention to the poor working condition in the factories of Bangladesh, the second largest exporter of RMG products.
President Obama cut off trade benefits for Bangladesh following the incident, which came several months after a deadly blaze had killed over 100 workers at another factory in Savar.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
