A
day after the death of 4 workers from toxic gas at the Jiri Subedar shipbreaking
yard of Sitakunda, the Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined it Tk 25
lakh for not having proper safety measures in its shipbreaking yard.
Local
police the same day filed a case against 4 of its officials, including its
owner Lokman Hakim, under the penal code. Others accused in the case, lodged by
Sub-inspector Aminul Islam, are its Director Abu Sayed, shift-in-charge Md.
Lokman and foreman Altaf Hossain.
Meanwhile,
the government yesterday formed a 3-member investigation committee, headed by
additional secretary of the industries ministry ABM Khorshed Alam, to look into
the matter.
The
probe body has 2 representatives -- from Bangladesh
Marine Academy
and 1 from the Bureau Veritas, Bangladesh
-- and is given 7 days to submit a report.
The
4 labourers died and 2 others fell sick while dismantling scrap ship MV Bharata
Bhum at the yard, adjacent to the mill, in Sonaichhari area of Sitakunda on
Sunday.
A DoE team led by Director (Chittagong)
Zafar Alam ordered the fines for cutting the old ship without permission from
the government body, releasing toxic gas and not having precautionary measures
in place, a DoE press release says.
The
team found that the scrap ship had 61 cylinders, containing carbon dioxide gas,
kept in its store-room carelessly. The statement also said the workers died due
to toxic gas release when they were working in the ship.
Shipbreaking
yards in the coastal region have been conducting operations without adequate
safeguards for years, disregarding repeated accidents and Supreme Court
directives to ensure security of the workers' lives.
Source: The Daily Star. 18
October 2011
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=207023
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