Tongi factory fire: Freeze bank accounts of Tampaco, owner: HC

The High Court on Monday asked the Bangladesh Bank to freeze the bank accounts of Tampaco Foil Limited and its owner.
It also asked the central bank to allow the factory owner to withdraw money from the bank accounts only for the payment of wages to workers and compensation to the families of the workers killed or injured in fire at the factory at Tongi on September 10.
At least 36 people were killed and dozens were injured in the fire that caused the collapse of the three multi-storied buildings of the packaging factory.
The court also asked the government and the factory owner to explain in four weeks why they would not be directed to pay proper compensation to the families of deceased and injured.
The court order came at a time while families of the deceased and injured workers were demanding that the labour and employment ministry must force the factory owner and its clients to contribute to the fund for compensation as per the victims’ loss of earning years or ‘the amount the worker could earn until his/her ability to work was lost.’
The victim families said that they were yet to get the money announced by the labour and employment ministry.
The ministry announcement said that Tk 2 lakh would be given for the family of each of the victims killed and the Gazipur district administration provided Tk 20,000 to the family of each of 20 of the 36 deceased, and Tk 10,000 to each of 25 injured people.
A vacation bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Ashish Ranjan Das issued the rule and the directive after hearing a public interest writ petition jointly filed by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Ain o Salish Kendra and Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association on September 19.
The respondents include secretaries of labour and employment and home affairs ministries, Bank Bank governor, inspector general of police, department of inspection of factories and establishment’s inspector general, chief inspector of the boiler, Titas Gas and Transformation Company managing director, Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha chairman, deputy commissioner and superintendent of police in Gazipur, Tongi municipal mayor, Gazipur Sadar upazila Nirbahi officer and Tongi police station officer-in- charge.
The rescuers are still searching bodies in the debris as 11 people still remained missing.
The fire caused by a boiler explosion was the largest factory fire in the country after Tazreen apparel factory fire at Savar on November 24, 2012 that killed at least 112 people.
Lawyers Sara Hossain and Sharif Bhuiyan moved the writ petition.

News Curtesy: www.newagebd.net