The Dhaka High Court has directed the Bangladesh Bank to impose restrictions on withdrawal or transfer of money by the owners of Rana Plaza and the owners of the five factories situated in the Plaza, the building that collapsed in Dhaka killing hundreds of people. The Court, taking suo moto action has also issued a rule nisi to the concerned authorities to show cause as to why compensation should not be given to the victims and action taken against those responsible.
Hundreds of garment workers – mostly women, were killed when a building with five garment factories collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Even though cracks were seen in the building the day before the incident, the supervisors, declaring the building to be safe, called all the workers back in the next day, the day of the incident. The Rana Plaza collapse is fast becoming the biggest industrial disaster that Bangladesh has witnessed.
This incident is however not an isolated incident and Bangladesh has, over the years, seen many such building collapses such as the Phoenix building collapse in 1997, the Spectrum building collapse in 2005, and the recent fire in the Tazreen Fashions Ltd factory in 2013. Though the High Court has earlier issued directions and orders on the Government to take action in these cases of building collapses resulting in the deaths of scores of citizens, no action appears to have been taken.
Odhikar, an organisation in Bangladesh aimed at creating a wider monitoring and awareness raising system on the abuse of civil and political right, conducted a fact finding report on the Plaza collapse. To access the report click here.
TAGS: Employment
