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Factories lack fire & emergency escapes

Sultana Rahman
Working in a garment factory is risky but authorities are indifferent about the risks, while workers take for as a straggle for survival.
Most factories lack emergency exits With the collapsible gates kept underlock and key making it impossible to flee from danger.
The recent fire at a knitting plant in Siddliirganj burnt alive at least 22 and injured more than 50 others on January 7. Workers said the number of casualties was so large as they were stuck in the four-storey building with only a side door open while the main gate and die emergency exit at the back were shut fast.
"Surrounded by flames, we cried for help but none came. Many of us climbed back to the second floor to escape through another exit but that too was closed;" said a worker of Shaan Knitting.
Wikers panicked and rushed from one floor to anoth er 1 coking for escapes but foundall exits locked.
"As the flames fanned we found ourselves trapped inside," said Habib, another survivor.
On a visit to a few garment factories in Moghbazar and Mirpur workers said and staff confirmed that collapsible gates
arc often kept locked to make maximumuseofthetimelimit of asingleshifl.
Lokman, a guard at ARC Sweaters in Moghbazar said: "Uie gates are closed at a certain time to ensure security of workers. We just follow instructions given by the management and open them up according to the timeschedules given to us."
Giving reasons for locked entrances, Salam Maliiuddin, a supervisor of Smirty Garments of Mirpur said: "This is done to avoid unnecessary problems caused bylocal goons."
The risks of fire and fire-related. incidents are high in most of the 2,308 listed garment units in the city.
Considering these incidents the Department of Fire Service and Civil Defence (FSCD) formulated a law making it mandatory for factories to have an emergency or fire exit to avoid fire-related casualties.
Many factories half-heartedly comply with the rule installing light, narrow staircases that engineers say cannot withstand pressureofrashingworkers.
BGMEA.and FSCD officials admit that some fire exits are faulty but defend themselves by saying those were built before
formulation of the fire safety law.
When a factory is constructed clearance and a licence on firesafety must be obtained from the FSCD, according to the fireservice ordinance, but those who comply with the regulation alleged that others buy firesafety certificates from the authorities.
FSCD certified about 105 garment factories at Goran in Khilgaon, but locals say there are more than 250 factories without fire escapes in the area..
An FSCD official said th ey have just four inspectors to supervise 2,308 garment factories in the city. Such an inadequate inspection team can hardly monitor the safety measures in the garment industry, hesaid.
Apart from the last accident in Siddhirganj, at least 198 garment workers died and more than 1,000 were injured in fire-related incidents in 1990-2001, according to a study made together by ''Bangladesh Garment Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS). Of the 14 serious incidents of fire across the country during the same period, 13 took place in Dhaka. Exits were lockedin most the fire incidents.'