Govt to shut some risky marketplaces after Eid: Salman F Rahman

News Desk :
Bangladesh will shut down certain Dhaka marketplaces at risk of fire hazards or other disasters after Eid-ul-Fitr, says Salman F Rahman, the prime minister’s advisor on private industry and investment.
“Some of the markets in Dhaka I think will be closed down immediately after Eid,” he said during bdnews24.com’s talk show ‘Inside Out’ on Sunday. “We have to take drastic action for one or two markets which we think are unsafe, where a disaster can happen.”
The government’s new hardline policy has been spurred by a spate of recent disasters that culminated in the inferno at Bangabazar, which gutted thousands of shops at one of the largest clothing marketplaces in the country, reports bdnews24.com
Although Rahman was unwilling to discuss which markets could be shut down in the near future, he did mention that Gausia Market, another major shopping location in the capital, was also at risk.
“For example, I was reading in the press that one of the other markets which they are now saying is also very, very unsafe is the Gausia Market. So there again, a notice has been given.”
“The question is, it’s Eid, and just before Eid, can we shut it down? Okay, we will do it after Eid. So this is an issue, which is a difficult one to resolve, but we are working towards it.”
Asked why the government had resorted to only sending notices instead of taking further action, he said: “It is not the job of the government to do anything.”
“The remedial work has to be done by the owner of the building or the occupants of the building who are there. What the government can do is they can go and shut it down. Now, obviously, there again is a lot of resistance.”
“[What the] government has to do, the government is doing, but it’s the
individuals who are being given the notice and being asked that you have to fix it, and they are not fixing it. So there, to speed that up, like I said, then the government will have to go into taking very, very strong and harsh actions that has a lot of other social and economic consequences. And then again, you all will say, well, you’re speeding it up, you’re going and taking this harsh action, but then what is going to happen? Because the livelihoods of lots of people are involved in this.”
Rahman, also the Beximco vice-chairman, is currently in charge of the multilateral national committee on the overall safety of Bangladesh’s factories.
The committee has inspected over 5,000 factories and businesses, Rahman said, adding that the government made a list based on risk factors. “And we identified about 200 – very, very risky ones. And we’ve sent notices to them.”
“Now the next step, after sending that notice, is that we have to close them down. We’ve given them some time to take remedial action. If they don’t, then we’ll have to close them down. But like I mentioned earlier, that is a very drastic action, the moment you close them down, there is a loss of employment. Immediately there’s an economic loss also.” Though fire safety is a significant issue, it is possible to address it, as the garments sector has showed, Rahman said.
“We have proved it in the garment industry. In the garment industry, there were problems and we have resolved them.”
“Now of course, people say that the Bangladesh garment factories are one of the safest in the world because so much renovation was done with regards to fire safety and also foundations and structural safety.”
However, traders argue that it required substantial investment for that change to occur.
“Their counterargument is that yes, in the garment industry, you were able to do it because you had so much investment, you put in so much money. In our case, where are we going to get the money from? A huge investment is required. So this is kind of a dialogue between the business community. The government is saying that yes, fine, that may be so, but you cannot operate in unsafe conditions. You’re putting your own employees at risk. And you’re also putting the public at risk.”