Boiler explosion in Gazipur

In yet another industrial disaster the death toll from a boiler explosion in the factory of Multifabs Ltd in Gazipur has risen to 13 as of Tuesday. Had all the sections of the garment factory remained open on Monday, the number of fatalities might have been much higher. According to reports, the reasons behind the boiler explosion are, unsurprisingly, a lack of proper inspection combined with the usage of outdated boilers. 

In fact this was a disaster waiting to happen. It was well-known that the expiry of the certified period of the boiler was June 24—nine days prior to the explosion. In a brash statement, the chairman and managing director of the company has said that he didn't "feel it necessary to replace the boiler" which was installed in 2005 and according to him the "lifespan of such equipment is 25 years". And in a blatant and deliberate disregard for workers' safety, the boiler continued to be operated. Furthermore, Multifabs Ltd is an Accord-covered factory and according to the executive director of Accord for Bangladesh operations, 82 percent of overall remediation items had been verified as completed as of the day of the explosion. Despite all this, this avoidable disaster could not be averted. 

The tragic Tampaco Foils factory fire last September—which was also triggered by a boiler explosion and left at least 34 dead—is still fresh in our memory. The death toll from boiler explosions alone in the last five years is nearly a staggering 100. It is clear that some owners have simply refused to heed the warnings.

Clearly, the system of factory inspection currently in place is inadequate to ensure the minimum standards of safety. Not only are there not enough industrial inspectors but the process of inspection also seems to be substandard. The identities of all those individuals responsible for the Gazipur industrial disaster immediately need to be established, and they ought to be tried in a court of law.