8th anniversary of Rana Plaza tragedy being observed; labour organisations' demands still unmet

Eighth anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, the deadliest garment factory accident in history that took over a thousand lives, is being observed today.

This year, the anniversary is being observed on a limited scale due to the pandemic situation, said Rafiqul Islam Sujan, president of Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation.

In the morning, 18 workers' organisations under the banner of "Sramik Samannay Parishad" placed wreaths at the base of a temporary memorial monument at the site where at least 1,136 people were killed and over 2,500 were injured when Rana Plaza collapsed on April 24, 2013.

Victims and families of the dead also converged at the site in Savar, remembering this day.

Workers' organisations have been demanding maximum punishment of the responsible persons including building owner Sohel Rana, compensation and rehabilitation for injured victims and deceased's families, providing life-long free treatment to workers, building a hospital for workers at the site and declaring April 24 "National Workers' Mourning Day".   

"We have been pressing for the fulfilment of our demands but those are not met yet," Federation President Sujan said.

He urged the government to provide assistance to Rana Plaza victims and their families, who are going through a hard time amid the pandemic situation.