Lax inspection and inept operation of industrial boilers are principally responsible for their recurrent explosions and resultant loss of life and property-the latest in a Gazipur garment factory.An anatomy of such fatal accidents reveals the two major lapses, as Monday’s boiler blast in the Gazipur apparel factory left at least 13 dead and around 50 wounded by the latest count.Besides, according to insiders, poor maintenance of the machines by factories and absence of necessary action, including deterrent punishment, and low rate of compensation against the errant boiler- users are blamed for the recurrence of such industrial incidents.In another major incident on April 19 last, a boiler blast in a Dinajpur rice mill caused 16 deaths and injury to 28.Six people were injured in Chapainwabganj on March 31 while another explosion killed three in Sirajganj in January.Two boiler explosions were reported to the authority concerned in 2016, one of which was unregistered. Another unregistered boiler blew up in 2014 at an apparel-manufacturing unit in Narayanganj, according to official data.Experts and labour leaders claimed the number of explosions should be higher than what official record shows.”The main reasons for explosion are using a boiler exceeding its capacity and operation by unskilled hands,” said Md Sharafat Ali, a boiler inspector.Most of the blasts occur in rice mills, followed by apparel and other industries that need steam for production purposes, he told The Financial Express.Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies executive director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed said there are only six government inspectors to assess the large number of boilers in industries, including garment factories.In his view, it’s not practically possible for them to inspect thousands of boilers in operation across the country, especially those in rice mills, most of which are not registered.”Poor government inspection and monitoring, absence of adequate penalty and low-rated compensation are also responsible for the negligence on the part of factory authorities in taking sufficient safety measures and investing in that segment,” he added.Manufactured in Germany in 1998, the boiler of Multifab factory in Gazipur was registered on June 10, 2003 with Office of the Chief Inspector of Boilers, responsible for inspection and registration of the boilers and certification of the operators.The inspection office runs under the ministry of industries.According to officials, the registration of the factory boiler expired on June 24 last. The Multifab management had applied for re-inspection and re-registration of the boiler just days before the Eid-ul-Fitr festival.The ongoing safety initiatives in the country’s readymade garment industry also ignored boiler safety as the section has been excluded from the inspection and remediation activities, labour leaders alleged.IndustriALL Global Union in a statement issued Tuesday said the non-unionised Multifabs factory explosion highlighted the urgent need to address boiler safety in garment and textile factories in Bangladesh.Garment-factory supervising Accord engineers have inspected the factory that does not cover boiler inspections, which are monitored by the government.Citing the tragedy, the rights group stressed continuation of the Accord, saying that there is still an enormous amount to be done to improve safety in the Bangladeshi garment industry and that they would demand inclusion of boiler safety.Asked about the measures to minimise such untoward incidents in the country, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) Dr AKM Monjur Morshed stressed enhancing skills of the operators through formal training and strengthening the capacity of the authority concerned.According to industries ministry officials, there are more than 5,000 industrial units including readymade garment and textile factories that have boilers.The government supervises the registered boilers only, making it difficult for the authorities to ascertain the exact number of boilers that exist in the country, they said.According to the available data, 5,035 boilers were registered with the authority in fiscal year (FY) 2015-16, up from 4450 in previous FY 2014-15.There are more than 30,000 boilers across the country including those used in rice mills. Majority of them are running without prior permission from the authorities, thus posing risks of industrial accidents, officials and experts said.Industries such as readymade garment factories, auto rice mills, fertiliser factories, paper mills, sugar mills, jute mills, cotton mills, textile units and pharmaceutical plants use boilers, they added.
