Ensuring rice mill workers' safety

Thakurgaon is a district that is famous for the production of rice, wheat, potatoes and vegetables due to its fertile land and weather. In some years, we have surplus production in food grains. Around 1,000 farmers from this district supply rice to the government-run warehouse. For this, more than one and a half thousand rice mills have been set up in the district. But it is unfortunate that there are not enough safety measures for the workers of these mills. Three people, including a woman and her daughter, died as a boiler of a rice mill exploded in Rahimpur area of Thakurgaon Sadar upazila recently. Two others were also injured in the incident.
Poor workers of rice mills often become victims of boiler blast. This is, however, not the first time that a boiler exploded in Thakurgaon. Earlier there were three major boiler explosion incidents in the district. In 2013, three people were killed and three others were injured in an explosion in Thakurgaon road area. In 2018, one person was killed in Baliadangi upazila in a similar blast. In 2020, one was killed and eight others were injured in a boiler blast in Rajagaon area of Sadar upazila. Besides, accidents often happen regularly in rice mills. Due to the negligence of the owners, such incidents are happening.
Boiler has a bulb for steam control. This allows excess steam to get out. But many rice mills do not have that bulb to control the vapour. A rice mill requires the approval of the Ministry of Food and the clearance of the Department of Environment. It appears that some of the rice mills in Thakurgaon do not have the approval and the clearance. And many mills do not renew their permits. These issues should be met immediately if we want to ensure a safe working environment for the rice mill workers.

Ashikujaman Syed,
Marketing Research Associate, HC Minerals,
Shijiazhuang, China,
[email protected]