Thousands
of people, most of them are garment workers, are rushing back to Dhaka
from across the country despite the nationwide shutdown as Bangladesh government has allowed garment owners
to open their factories. Due
to the ongoing suspension of public transport operation, some workers are to
walk hundreds of miles having baby in their lap, some have luggage on head while
some use goods-laden
vehicles. Due to rush of passengers and lack of
vehicles, they are supposed to travel in flocks, riding in freight trucks ignoring the
guidelines of physical- distancing. All are running towards Dhaka with health risks
ignoring hundreds of adversities and sufferings of roads only to save their
jobs. Trying to save job of the workers by ignoring even death is really
heartbreaking. Fear of death is trivial to hunger!
The Bangladesh is undergoing
the four stages of Coronavirus at present according to the specialists. COVID-19
four stages is when spread is practically uncontrollable and there are many major clusters of infection
all over the country. This period is
taken into account as the most dangerous period. So, we are in a great danger. Coronavirus
can strike a terrible blow at any time. Evidence of their prediction is already
being noticed. The number of corona cases in the country is increasing day by
day. The districts that were safe are now also affected. However, the good news
is that our country still has a much lower rate of infections and deaths than
the developed world. So, there is still time to minimize both the incidence and
mortality rate by dealing with this step with caution. Unfortunately, what’s
going on is nothing but horrible for all.
One garment factory after
another is being opened. Mad rush of the workers on roads amid shutdown.
Garment workers are returning to Dhaka from the villages in groups, accepting
various hardships due to the closure of public transport. No social distance is
being ensured. The reason behind opening garment factories is that the
competing countries of Bangladesh have opened factories. They have gone into
production. In addition, the demand for ready-made garments is increasing as
the European market is also becoming active. In this situation, if the domestic
factories cannot go into production, then Bangladesh will lose the market of
readymade garments. Buyer countries will cancel advance orders too etc.
Besides, there are other issues of the domestic economy with it. People's lives
will gain momentum, factories will re-open, the country's economy will be
active --- this is what everyone wants. But the problem is that the safety of
the workers in the factories is not satisfactory. I live in Savar, I observe
myself how the workers are being employed without maintaining social distance
and hygiene rules. To see the miserable condition, the Savar health official
himself has appealed to the concern ministry to close down the garment factories.
Besides, urging the workers to come to factories while stopping public
transport is a terrible decision. If necessary, the authorities could arrange
for them to be brought in special transport by ensuring social distance.
Besides, appropriate measures should be taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus
in factories. Such an awful situation is not desirable at this moment where the
whole nation is facing an outrageous epidemic. We must think of the biggest
interests in this exhaustion of the nation. The employer needs to keep in mind
that workers need to be saved if the garment industry is to survive.
The government declared a
general holiday in March after the first corona patient was identified in the
country. That holiday is still going on, it is heard, the lockdown period will
step up. The government has banned all kinds of public gatherings to prevent
the spread of the epidemic, and has even imposed restrictions on religious
institutions. So, we need to rethink about how reasonable it is to open garment
factories when the number of infected is growing. In addition, even if the
employer claimed, they has not yet been able to ensure the health and safety of
the workers. The decision of those who are in vital positions of the country is
very contradictory. They impose on the people whatever they want! Earlier, the
workers were asked to come to Dhaka. They came to their work places accepting
various difficulties but after reaching the work place they saw the garments
closed! Again they came back their home accepting various hardship. Now they have started coming to Dhaka again
with health risks. Nothing but just lack of coordination all around. The coronavirus is still under our control. So by eliminating all the
inconsistencies, all concerned should work together as per the advice of the
experts otherwise Bangladesh will have to suffer a lot. We don't have enough time to blaming each
other.
No comments:
Post a Comment