Six-storied building in Ctg with four RMG units found faulty

Production in four garment factories housed in a six-storey building in Chittagong was suspended serious structural flaws were found in one of the factories. The suspension followed a directive of the official review committee on Saturday, sources involved with the process said.
Earlier, the Accord's inspection teams found structural flaws in the Men's Apparel and recommended immediate evacuation of the unit for the sake of workers' safety.
Following the Accord's recommendations, the committee comprising representatives from the government, the Accord, the Alliance, the BUET, the BGMEA and the BKMEA started scrutinising those.
"We visited the Men's Apparel Saturday and directed the authority to carry out a detailed engineering assessment within two weeks," Syed Ahmed, Inspector General of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments told the FE.
Until the detailed assessment, the factory would remain closed. The next decision would be taken after getting the reports as to whether the structural strength of the building would have to be increased or whether it could be reopened, he explained.
The six-storey building accommodated four garment units-the Men's Apparel Ltd, the Day Fashion, the Day Apparel and the Bayezid Fashion-employing about 3,000 workers.
The rest three factories will also remain closed, he said adding the owners have agreed to pay the workers according to the labour law. The experts' team found cracks in the building's columns as it is overloaded while there is inconsistency in the design and structure, sources said.
On April 03, the review committee visited the Four Wing Ltd and the Cherry Pvt Ltd while it visited the All Weather Fashions Ltd on April 04 following the Accord's recommendations.
The strength of columns of the first two factories will be scrutinised and then a final decision will be taken while the latter has been recommended to reduce its load immediately, sources said adding production is going on in the three units.
The review committee will visit the Elegance Oriental Ltd and the Libas Textiles Ltd on Monday next. Md Ahsanul Hoque, AGM of the Libas Textiles, however, told the FE  their units are operating normally.