Garments factory will be open in lockdown

Garment factories in seven areas around Dhaka, including Gazipur and Narayanganj, will remain open during the lockdown. Production will continue in the lockdown with strict restrictions as before.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), two organizations of garment owners, reported the information on Monday (June 21st) evening.

BKMEA vice-president Fazle Shamim Ehsan said, “I have understood the type of corona before but this time I don’t understand anything.” It is a cause for fear. Our fear makes it harder to follow hygiene rules. If the workers survive, the factory will survive and production is also necessary to keep the factory alive. In the coming Eid, along with salary-bonus, 15 days salary of the current month will also have to be paid and workers will also have to be saved. All in all, we are trying to maintain strict hygiene as before.

BGMEA director Mohiuddin Rubel said, “We have nothing to say about the new health ban.” As before, strict health care must be maintained in production. Moreover, we also have monitoring. We want to be in production as before with 100% health care. No excuse has been heard before in any factory on this issue and it will not happen yet.

The government has announced a lockdown in seven districts from Tuesday (June 22) to June 30 due to an increase in the incidence of coronavirus.

This information was given by Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam at an emergency briefing of the Cabinet Division on Monday afternoon.

He said restrictions have been imposed in Manikganj, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Rajbari, Madaripur and Gopalganj from tomorrow till June 30.

Sunbd/NJ