Hameem Group unit asked to shut for structural flaws

FE Report | Published: July 18, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

The official review panel Wednesday asked the authority of a garment factory of Hameem Group to shut the unit for structural flaws.
The committee asked That's It Fashions Ltd in the city's Tejgaon industrial area to close its top six floors immediately and gave it six weeks time for evacuation of the remaining floors.
The panel's decision came following the Alliance's recommendation that its engineers found the factory building risky for workers.
According to the report, available on the Alliance's official website, the building's factor of safety is well below 1.25, which is considered critical, columns are highly overstressed, and one of the edge columns on the ground floor had cracks.
There are also inconsistencies between the building's permitted drawings, structural drawings and present state, the report mentioned.
"There are undocumented cantilevers on three sides of the building," Syed Ahmed, Inspector General of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, told the FE.
The panel has also asked for conducting detailed engineering assessment (DEA), including soil test, of the building within next six weeks.
There were about 2,600 workers of the unit, of whom 1,000 have been employed in other units of the group, while the rest are now jobless, he added.
Besides That's It Fashions, the panel visited three more units this month, following the Accord's recommendation.
It asked Ashulia Apparels Ltd at Mirpur to keep its sixth and seventh floors and roof-top unoccupied and conduct DEA.
Oishee Fashion Pvt Ltd was asked to remove internal masonry walls on its sixth floor, keep its fifth and sixth floors unoccupied, and conduct DEA.
The Accord recommended two more units to the review panel, and requested it to take necessary measures.
The panel has so far visited 50 factories, 32 recommended by the Accord, 16 by the Alliance, and the rest two by the BUET.
Among the factories, some 24 have been closed. Out of these, 19 units were inspected by the Accord, four by the Alliance, and one by the BUET.