Matiur RahmanMany of the Rana Plaza victim families are yet to get compensations for which they are staging demonstration and rally in the capital city as reported by media on Thursday. Few hundreds of the victims even after three months of the tragic incident had to take to the streets
for realising their demands for compensations as assured by the garment owners association and the Awami League government both
at highest level. What is the most sad aspect is that the nation with a heavy heart is watching the plight of the victim families who had to
undergo sufferings for mere whims and towing party line enthusiastically by the fabulously money-maker factory owner to serve
the political mentors.
The survivors mostly crippled at the collapse of Rana Plaza and the families of many workers killed in the incident are still rallying
for proper compensation and rehabilitation as assured. Many workers are still suffering from trauma and injuries both at hospital and home
as they need proper treatment and medicine. The police, according to latest information, is yet to complete the investigation into the
collapse case filed following the country’s biggest factory disaster in terms of casualties. The 8-storey plaza at the city suburb of Savar
that housed as many as five garment factories collapsed on April 24 leaving more than 1,132 people, mostly garment workers killed and
over 2,400 injured while many others remain untraced.
As announced in Parliament during question-hour the other day, a total amount of Taka 127.67 crore was donated in the period between
April 29 and July 8 by different institutions, organisations and individuals to the prime minister’s relief fund. The fund was
opened soon after the Rana Plaza collapse for providing compensation urgently to and rehabilitation of the victims. As reported by the
media recently, ‘no garment factory owners or their organisation, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association has so far donated any money’ to the prime minister’s fund.
Families only of 654 killed workers received compensation ranging from Tk 2 lakh to Tk 3 lakh each from the prime minister’s in four phases.
The prime minister herself handed over compensation ranging from Tk 11 lakh to Tk 15 lakh to 24 victims who lost their limbs in the plaza
collapse. Many of the workers are yet to receive any compensation at all while many others are ‘missing’ as mentioned by media reports. Most of the
survivors and the families of the dead and missing workers remain in dark without any specific information about compensation as no
specific announcement over payment has been made as alleged by different labour organisations.
Meanwhile, the affected workers and their families couple of days ago shouted slogans by forming a human chain at Savar bus stop in support
of their demand of compensation payment ahead of the ensuing Eid-ul-Fitr. In an apparent bid to shift the responsibility for the
building collapse, a non-Awami League municipal mayor of Savar, Refayet Ullah has been implicated in the case and is now in jail
though he was elected after approval of the plan and the owner of the Rana Plaza, Sohel Rana, a ruling party’s youth front leader, had
already started the construction work. So far the police investigation is concerned about the plaza collapse case, it is proceeding
strangely at snail’s pace though the disaster of such a huge magnitude in terms of loss of human lives and the impacts on the country’s economy from its foremost pillar,
the garment sector. 27-7-2013
