Survivors are still bearing the brunt of the country’s deadliest fire at Tazreen Fashions that occurred two years back while punishment is yet to be meted out to those responsible for the tragedy.
On February 10, 2013, a Dhaka court sent Tazreen Fashionss Limited Managing Director Delowar Hossain and his wife Mahmuda Akter Mita to jail as the couple surrendered to the court.
On July 24, a High Court bench granted two month’s ad interim bail to Delowar, which was later extended to six months.
The families of those killed in the fire received some compensation but the financial support the injured victims received was not enough compared to gravity of the wounds they sustained, said worker-leaders.
They said the money provided by the government and BGMEA was not sufficient to treat their wounds.
“I cannot move by myself as the lower part of my body down from the waist is still numb as I jumped to save my life, Shamsunnar, a sewing operator of Tazreen Fashions, said.
I am unable to bear the expense of treatment as the money I received from the government and the BGMEA had already been spent.
She had received Tk50,000 from government and Tk1,00000 from BGMEA.
“We are greatly shocked that while we are suffering the worst, the owner for whose negligence the fire broke out has not yet been punished,” she said.
“I joined the factory to support my father but now my father is working hard to bear my treatment expenses, said a regretful Saiful, another operator of Tazreen Fashions.
“I am now jobless and unable to do anything as my legs were damaged in the incident. If the government or the BGMEA supported me to run a small business it could help me survive, said Sumon Khan, a worker of the factory.
The victims did not receive the compensation they are entitled for and that is why we are still demanding compensation as per the ILO convention, said Roy Ramesh Chandra, secretary general of IndustriALL Bangladesh Council.
He also urged the brand to form a trust fund like Rana Plaza to compensate victims of the incident.
The families of dead received Tk7 lakh each but the injured workers did not get enough to bear their treatment expense, said Sirajul Islam Rony, president of Bangladesh National Garment Workers Employees League.
He urged the government and the BGMEA to take steps to rehabilitate victims taking into consideration their physical conditions.
According to BGMEA data, so far 109 dead were identified and their beneficiaries were paid Tk7 lakh each.
BGMEA paid Tk1 lakh to 90 workers each. The money was donated by Li & Fung.
Meanwhile, though two years into the deadly Tazreen fire incident has gone by the trial is yet to begin in the cases filed over the industrial tragedy in 2012.
Court source said, 11 months have already elapsed after the submission of a charge sheet.
On December 31 last year Dhaka Senior Judicial Magistrate Wasim Sheikh issued warrants for the arrests of four fugitives accused in the case.
More than 10 months have already passed after the issuance of arrest warrants but the reports on the fugitives are yet to reach the court, a source in the court said.
Earlier on December 22, 2013, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) pressed homicide charges in the cases against 13 people including Tazreen Fashionss Managing Director Delwar Hossain.
Other accused are Delwar’s wife and Tazreen Chairman Mahmuda Akhter, Manager (admin) Dulal Uddin, Store-in-Charges Hamidul Islam, Security in-Charges Al Amin and Anisur Rahman, guard Rana, loader Shamim Miah, Engineer Mahbubul Morshed, Production Manager Mobarak Hossain Manju, Factory Manager Abdur Razzak and Quality Manager Shahiduzzaman.
Of them, Morshed, Manju, Razzak and Shahiduzzman went into hiding soon after the incident.
Their whereabouts have still remained unknown while the rest of the accused were freed on bail including Tazreen’s MD Delwar, also managing director of Tuba Group.
According to the charge sheet, Delwar and his wife constructed the building on a faulty plan with the help of the engineer and illegally used the ground-floor walkway as a warehouse.
There was no fire exit in the factory although a provision of the labour law stipulates that there must be two exits in every factory, said the charge sheet.
CID Inspector AKM Mohsinuzzaman Khan, also investigation officer (IO) of the case, earlier told reporters: “The factory was built a mile away from the main road making it very difficult for the Fire Service vehicles to enter the factory compound.”
Managers and security guards were charged for their insistence that workers got back to work, even though smoke was billowing from the spot.
“Fire alarms rang as soon as the blaze broke out. Panicked workers tried to leave the factory before the fire spread. But managers and security guards told them it was nothing serious,” the IO said.
After the deadly incident, two cases were filed in connection with the blazing inferno.
Of the cases, police filed one with Ashulia police station accusing 15 staff for murder due to their negligence.
The second case was filed against Delwar and 30 others on May 29 with Dhaka Chief judicial magistrate court by Abdul Matin, brother of missing victim Rehana Begum.
Anwarul Kabir Babul, additional public prosecutor of Dhaka Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, said: “It is very disappointing that the court cannot start trial of the sensational incident for lack of the police reports.
On November 24, 2012 devastating fire broke out at Tazreen Fashions at Savar on the outskirt of the city, which killed 112 workers and over 200 workers were injured.
