Govt nods RMG safety panel formation

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Taking a cue from the worst-ever industrial disaster in Bangladesh, the government has decided to form a high-level committee to scrutinise safety measures in readymade garment factories across the country.

Monday’s regular Cabinet meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, also decided to update the existing building code with specifications for the authorities concerned to approve building designs, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting.A State Minister will head the committee, with representations from various ministries, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and various workers' organisations.

Bhuiyan said the committee would physically review the infrastructures and other safety measures in garment factories across the country and then submit a report to the Cabinet committee, aiming to prevent recurrence of such human tragedies in the RMG sector in the future.

The official said that the Cabinet Division would soon issue a gazette notification in this regard and that the Prime Minister would name a junior minister who would head the committee.

The Cabinet also adopted a condolence motion over the huge loss of lives in the Savar building collapse.

Bhuiyan said that the Cabinet also decided to provide adequate assistance to the families of the deceased considering their needs and the injured after determining the extent of losses.

The Ministry of Housing and Public Works at the meeting presented a paper on updating the existing building code with specifications for the authorities approving building designs. The Cabinet directed the ministry to submit an updated proposal on the building code after consultation with all stakeholders.

A multi-storey commercial building caved in on Wednesday in Savar, on the outskirts of capital Dhaka, killing more than 380 people.

The Rana Plaza housed five garments factories and there were over 3,500 people inside it when the accident took place.