On Wednesday, a factory blaze in Dhaka’s Mirpur district claimed 16 lives, bringing the growing problem of worker deaths in Bangladesh’s factories back into the spotlight.
The tragedy highlights a pattern the country has struggled to break. According to Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), accidents from Tongi to Chattogram have repeatedly occurred because no one is held accountable. The owner’s safety negligence is rarely punished, and the victims’ families often never receive the compensation they are legally entitled to.
Ahmmed spoke about the issue at a press conference held in Dhaka’s National Press Club, in partnership with the Safety and Rights Society. He said the typical response to an incident is to form a probe committee that never releases its report. Instead of learning from mistakes, the same patterns repeat, fueling future disasters. “We don’t want factories to shut down,” he added. “We want them to operate safely—protect the owner’s property and, more importantly, protect the workers’ lives.”
The fire is one of several recent incidents that have raised questions about Bangladesh’s industrial safety standards and emergency preparedness. In Chattogram and other cities, fire outbreaks have similarly resulted in injuries and lost lives.
The Awami League has even accused the interim government of the engineering billionaire Muhammad Yunus of orchestrating arson incidents across the country. Party officials claim the government’s negligence is that these fires are caused by a “deliberate” campaign to destabilise the economy and “destroy ordinary lives.”
The latest blaze underscores the urgent need for stronger enforcement of safety laws and transparent investigations. Without change, Bangladesh risks more unnecessary tragedies that endanger the lives of its growing industrial workforce.
Source: ianslive
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
