A devastating fire broke out at a garment factory of BSCIC industrial area in Panchabati in the town yesterday.
Eyewitnesses said the fire originated from the 6th floor of Al-Amin Sweater at 11:45 am when the owner side of the factory, BKMEA Director GM Faruque and local police were holding a meeting at the first floor to meet the demand of its workers.
At first the workers tried to douse the fire but it could not be brought under control as the flame was spreading down fast from the top floor to 5th and 4th floors, sources said.
On information, ten fire units from Hajiganj, Mondalpara and Postagola rushed to the spot and brought the flame under control at about 2:00 pm.
Valuables and garment products at the three floors of the factory were gutted.
The factory authorities claimed that the fire damaged valuables worth Tk 7 crore while fire brigade said the loss might be Tk 1 crore.
Managing Director of the factory Mr Zakaria said “The fire incident is no doubt a violence as it broke out when we were holding a meeting to meet our workers’ demand.”
The BKMEA director termed the fire incident ‘mysterious’. Garment workers Mokter Hossain and Shafi said they were trying to douse the flame with a hectic effort before the fire fighters rushed to the spot adding that the workers were not involved in the incident.
Workers of the factory have been observing work abstention since Wednesday.
Source: The Daily Star, 15 May 2009
Prodip K. Roy 