An organization working to ensure workers’ safety says the authorities are yet to bring to book those responsible for the tragedy
The Sramik Nirapotta Forum (SNF) has demonstrated demanding proper compensation, treatment and rehabilitation of the survivors and their families of the February 20 Chawkbazar fire.
They formed a human chain in front of the National Press Club in Dhaka on Saturday morning, commemorating one month of the tragic incident that killed 70 people and injured scores, according to a press release.
Speakers at the program said that 27 workers had died in that massive fire while seven other injured were still undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
They also said the others being treated at DMCH for burn injuries were also not showing any improvement while some of them were in critical condition.
The massive fire on the night of February 20 had ravaged through several multi-storey buildings — which stored chemical and plastic materials — on Churihatta’s Nanda Kumar Lane in Chawkbazar, Old Dhaka.
A total of 66 people were killed in the spot, while four others succumbed to their injuries at DMCH.
According to the press release, SNF, an organization that works to ensure workers’ safety, on Saturday also said that the authorities were yet to bring to book those responsible for the tragedy.
There was no progress report either on how much assistance the victims were receiving from the government and non-government entities since the incident, they said.
The demands SNF made at the human chain include Tk10 lakh compensation for each deceased; bearing the medical treatment cost of the injured victims and ensuring their compensation and rehabilitation; publishing the findings of all investigation committees; punishment of those responsible for the fire; and removal of all chemical warehouses from the residential areas of Old Dhaka.
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