WE don’t know who must be held accountable for the factory blast closer to a residential area in Tongi on Saturday morning which has left atleast 26 people killed, dozens injured and some others missing. Such accidents with so many casualties are highly deplorable and shocking just before the Eid-Ul-Azha when families were waiting for vacation and celebration. It is very sad and we must say whoever be responsible for the neglect, must be punished.
Two ammonia boiler accidents were reported in the past weeks in two separate factories and we must say nobody has learnt to become alert to check their factories. Managerial neglect is turning to be the biggest cause of such accidents. Particularly we would ask for the accountability of the Department of Factory Inspection. If their inspectors had regularly inspected faulty gas and electricity lines and ensure their proper repair, not only this many such industrial accidents could have been avoided.
Twenty fire fighting units tried overnight Sunday to douse the devastating fire that was caused by a gas leakage at Tampaco Foils Limited at BSCIC industrial area in Tongi in the outskirt of the capital. It produces foil paper and other packing materials. As per media reports it is the largest factory fire in the country after Tazreen Fashion fire at Ashulia in 2012 that killed over 189 garment workers. Initially a boiler blast was blamed for the Tongi factory accident but the authorities later ascertained it was caused by gas leakage.
The factory was set up 36 years ago and as it showed faulty gas lines created the blast at a time when workers were reporting to their morning shift and night shift workers were preparing to leave the factory. The blast has hit two nearby buildings multiplying casualties even in the street. It is alarming that industrial accidents and particularly fire incidents are on rise in recent time and neglect to regular check up and repair is blamed for such accidents.
As it appears, local district administration has set up a 5-member investigation team to report on the accident in 15 days. Department of Fire and Civil Defense Services has also set up a similar probe team. Many wonder what purpose these inspection teams would serve when hundreds of such probe reports in the past accidents were sidelined and passed unheeded. In our view all factories must have their checklist of accident-prone equipment updated regularly to avoid sudden surprise. Meanwhile, would like to see credible role of the government how to keep industrial accidents down except Ministers visiting accident spots. We would also like to see every industrial plant should have their effective fire fighting capacity and should not neglect the safety issues. Because, it may hit anybody from top manager to workers below.
