Fire hazard factory allowed to operate

DHAKA – Authorities in Bangladesh knowingly allowed a garment factory to operate despite it repeatedly having failed to address alarming fire safety hazards, claims a leading campaign group. A fire at the Anzir Apparels Ltd factory in Baipail, Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, this week injured eight people according to local media reports. The factory had been listed on the website of the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, which said it failed to make adequate remediation progress after inspections in 2014. Having closed and reopened several times since, under different names – a not uncommon occurrence in Bangladesh – the factory eventually ending up falling under the safety remit of the Bangladesh Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE). Clean Clothes Campaign claims that DIFE registered that the factory had its resumed activity, “but failed to take any action despite known fire safety defects at the factory.”