The fire at a chemical factory in Gazipur on Saturday, which left at least five workers dead, has once again exposed the horrific vulnerability of workers engaged in hazardous work in unregulated factories. We can only speculate about the alarming extent of violations of safety regulations at this factory -- which reportedly produced a condensed substance used for road carpeting burning expired tyres -- given that it was operating illegally. 

According to the ward-41 councillor of Gazipur City Corporation, the factory had been in operation for five years, flouting repeated warnings from city corporation officials. What we are at a loss to understand, however, is: Where were the authorities when the factory was being set up and workers employed? And if they were aware of the factory's existence, why did they merely "warn" the owner, rather than close off the factory permanently and take action against him? The police, too, have stated that they were in the process of filing a case against its owner. Again, we fail to comprehend why they would wait till it was too late.  

The Rana Plaza and Tazreen disasters, which claimed the lives of thousands of workers, dramatically highlighted not only the negligence of factory owners, but also of regulatory bodies, in ensuring basic safety standards. Although notable progress has been made towards improving standards in many garment factories, there remain innumerable industrial units which continue to flout rules and regulations with complete impunity. It is high time that the government takes a zero tolerance stance towards these non-compliant factories and establishes good governance in the sector(s) to put an end to the untimely deaths of workers.