Deaths at unlicensed mills

The death of six workers of the seven fatally injured in a furnace blast at a rerolling mill under construction at Rupganj, Narayanganj has exposed some unpleasant developments in the country's industrial sector. Irregularities, non-compliance with required specifications and safety measures usually mark the operation of mills and factories leading to tragic loss of lives and damage to property. The authorities responsible for monitoring such omissions and wilful tinkering with regulations are often found to be a party to the gross malpractice. In this case, however, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) performed its job well enough by not issuing a licence and suggesting the required safety measures. Two inspectors from the DIFE visited the site twice, the last time on March 6, and found wanting in the layout of the machine, working environment for workers and their safe costume. They suggested modification and improvement in those matters. Even after the management was informed of this verbally and then in writing, it did not pay heed to the suggestions and continued with its trial run.
Now the owners have reportedly gone into hiding. Had the management complied with the inspection team's suggestion, the poor workers would not succumb to such a painful death. The still surviving worker is suffering in hospital bed with little chance of recovery. The workers were smelting iron in the rerolling furnace at the time of the blast. In the devastating blast at Sitakunda oxygen plant, the cause of the accident has not been precisely determined but a mismatch at the time of filling the cylinders is thought to be responsible. That plant also failed to renew its registration and get its inspection done. All this points to the negligence and wilful avoidance of regulatory checkups.
What is highly concerning is the fact that these two units are not the only ones to have bypassed the approval and regular inspection respectively, there are many more in factory-intensive areas such as Narayanganj and Sitakunda. The rerolling mill's case is particularly shocking because it defied the authority proper, which refused to issue its licence on account of various lapses. The poor workers, who are desperate to land a job, any job, can hardly bargain for wages, let alone safety issues at a time when employment is scarce. Unsafe working conditions prevail in a number of factories and mills, particularly in plastic factories and rerolling mills.
True, the DIFE did its duty by not issuing the rerolling mill a licence to go for operation. But there has to be a system of monitoring the non-compliant factories and mills. Whenever an outsize accident takes place, the irregularities, shortcomings and negligence come to the open. There are public outcries and assurances from the authorities immediately after an accident but then the issues are hardly pursued and the urgency is relegated to forgetfulness until a fresh accident happens. This cannot be the right approach to address industrial mishaps which actually are mostly manmade and the deaths caused are not accidental deaths but plain murder. So an effective system of regular inspection and monitoring of mills and factories should be there in order to ensure that no unlicensed factory ever operate or the licensed ones stall repair or renovation. Finally, the families of the dead in the blast should be given compensation.