Bangladesh has a long way to go when it comes to ensuring the safety of workers in the industrial sector, of that there is no doubt.
The recent incident in Chittagong that witnessed too many deaths and even more injuries was followed by another fire just two days ago in a shoe factory located in the residential area of Dhaka’s Bosila. While we can be thankful that, so far, there have been reports of zero casualties, we cannot deny the fact that the frequency with which fires break out in our industrial areas and factories point to a deep flaw in how we treat the issue of fire safety.
Regulations state that hazardous chemicals can only be stored inside industrial compounds after proper safety mechanisms have been taken and the compound in question is far away from human habitats. While the stakeholders of the factories are indeed the ones who are guilty, we have to hold the authorities accountable as well.
It is their duty to conduct drives throughout the country and identify code violations, structural weaknesses, and legal violations such as these and take the necessary punitive actions. As they have failed in that task, there can be no doubt about their culpability.
The administration cannot skirt this issue any longer. They need to increase the frequency of inspections and ensure safety mechanisms are always in place when it comes to the operation of the industrial sector. The recent fires need to be properly investigated and the culprits need to be brought to justice, and the authorities need to ensure there is no corruption in the process.
We have lost too many lives to the flames. It needs to end here and now.
