“There are no big risks in working in this industry unless the liquid chemicals fall on the body. To make the work safer we provide workers with protective clothes and compensate them if they get injured in any workplace accident,” said a senior member of Bangladesh Chemical and Perfume Shop Owners’ Society who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “There are some owners who don’t care for workers, but others do care for them.”
He added that the industry would shift from the city to a planned "chemical estate" once the government sets it up, but was unable to say when the project would begin.
In the meantime, none of the factories and warehouses have moved from Dhaka and accidents continue to occur.
“About 60 percent of fire accidents in Dhaka are caused by chemical and plastic factories,” said Enayet Hossain, a spokesman for the Fire Services and Civil Defense Department.
“We have advised higher authorities to push the industry out of the city. There is no deadline for it and we know little about the progress made so far,” he said.
A laborer washes a drum used for carrying hazardous industrial chemicals on a bank of the Buriganga river in Dhaka (Photo by Stephan Uttom)
Workers rights and safety are of serious concern for the government, insisted Abdul Khadem, deputy inspector-general at the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment.
“Time after time we visit factories and we warn owners if we find any health and environmental lapses. In cases where it is necessary we take punitive and legal action against them,” said Khadem.
But asked when the last time a factory was shut down or an owner jailed or fined for violating health and safety regulations, Khadem couldn’t say.
And as long as the lax enforcement continues, Dhaka residents remain fearful for their lives.
“We still can’t forget the [Nimtoli] disaster and we live in constant danger of a repeat,” said Kalim Mollah, owner of a residential building in Nimtoli. “I fear one day a fire from one of the chemical warehouses might burn down my building and leave me penniless.”
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