Most Ctg garment factories kept shut for cyclone

Most garment manufacturing companies in Chattogram kept their factories closed yesterday following a request of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) centring apprehensions over Cyclone Mocha's impact. 

According to sources in the BGMEA, the apex trade body of garment makers issued a notice to all members of Chattogram on Saturday afternoon.

Supply of gas from a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Maheshkhali has been suspended for the cyclone, so industrial plants and CNG filling stations in Chattogram are not getting any, said the notice.

Gas-powered factory boilers and workers' transport vehicles cannot be operated, so the factories in Chattogram should be kept closed for the day so that workers do not face any commute-related suffering, it added.

In response to the call, about 70 per cent of garment factories in Chattogram were kept shut, according to the BGMEA sources.

Supply of gas from a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Maheshkhali has been suspended for the cyclone, so industrial plants and CNG filling stations in Chattogram were not getting any gas

The gas supply related suspensions were confirmed by Syed Nazrul Islam, first vice president of the BGMEA, upon inquiry.

About 60 per cent of the 375 garment factories in Chattogram, including those in export processing zones, were kept shut, he said.

Ones that did stay open are not doing much work and will also be closed by 1:00 pm, he added.

The garment factories in Chattogram employ around seven lakh workers, said Nazrul.

If the decision-making process for sending out the request had been properly coordinated, all the factories would have complied, said Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, former first vice president of the BGMEA. 

"Many may be in a rush over urgent shipments of products, they have to keep factories open," he said.

"The BGMEA can only make requests but cannot impose decisions on any member. Hence more coordinated action in urgent decision-making is required," he said.

A general holiday should be announced for garment factories during such great natural disasters considering the safety of workers and their families, believes Jahangir Alam, general secretary of the United Federation of Garments Workers Chattogram.

Most workers live in slum areas and many live precariously on hill slopes and they should be given the opportunity to go to shelters with their families, he said.

If the workers go to work during such times, they will not be able to focus as they would stay worried about their families, he said.