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Blanket factory in Dhaka Central Jail facing closure

Kailash Sarkar
Disputes between the jail ♦ directorate and an entrepreneur are leading to the closure of the state-owned blanket factory inside the Dhaka Central Jail, sources said.
The jail directorate is trying to abolish the 50-year-old factory for accommodating prisoners, and alleged that the lessee -- Warm Me Woollen Mills Ltd - took away the government owned machinery from the factory.
On the other hand, the lessee company alleged that the high officials of the jail are trying to cancel their lease agreement. They also claimed that all the government owned machinery' went out of order and the Warm Me Woollen Mills Ltd purchased new machinery before starting operations.
The government owned properties at the factory' were
estimated at over Tk 5 crore.
Sources said the factory set up on a 3.5-acre of land has the capacity to produce around 20,000 to 40,000 blankets a month. The blankets required for the prisoners of 67 jails across the country are produced in the factory. In addition, the factory supplies the blankets to the army, BDR and Ansar personnel.
The factory was established in 1968 and during and after the Independence War it remained closed. In 1983, the ‘Warm Me Woollen Mills Ltd' took lease of the factory for 25 years against Tk 50,000 for a year and in 1990 the company extended the time to 55 years.
Jail sources said the lessee has been carrying out production using the government purchased machineries.
The legal battle between the company and the jail authorities began as the jail authorities cancelled the lease deed on
February 10 last year. After the cancellation of the lease, the lessee company filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the cancellation order.
After 14 months, the HC gave verdict on July 10 in favour of the jail authorities and the jail authorities ousted the staffers of 'Warm Me Woollen Mills Ltd' on the same day. Meanwhile, on July 15 the Supreme Court stayed the HC order.
Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Zakir Hassan told The Daily Star that they cancelled the lease deed as the 'Warm Me Woollen Mills Ltd' took lease of the factory illegally.
Hamidul Huq, director (Public Relations) of the company, said, "As the home ministry gave us the lease, the jail authorities have no right to cancel the order. Besides, the jail authorities have occupied the factory violating the stay order from the SC.”