Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will provide financial assistance to the family members of 53 Rana Plaza victims recently identified through DNA tests.
The assistance will be given from prime minister’s relief fund, said an official of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
He could not say about the amounts to be given. When contacted, the labour ministry officials said they were also unaware about the details of the assistance.
They said prime minister would decide regarding the matter. So far, an amount of Tk23 crore has been disbursed to 813 workers from the fund.
Of them, families of 36 victims received Tk10-15 lakh each and others got Tk1-2 lakh each.
A source at the BGMEA said banks, insurance companies, individuals and garment owners have donated about Tk127 crore so far to the fund.
Of them, Bangladesh Association of Banks provided Tk80 crore and BGMEA gave Tk2 crore.
On April 24 last year, Rana Plaza, an eight-story building that housed garment factories, collapsed in Savar, outskirts of Dhaka city, killing over 1,100 workers and injuring 2,500. The victims were mostly women.
As many bodies remained unidentified, the government decided to carry out DNA tests.
In the first phase, the tests identified 157 victims – 116 women and 41 men.
The second-phase tests identified 43 more bodies – 33 women and 10 men while seven were identified in the third phase. The DNA tests used bone and teeth as samples.
