Online Desk :
China Railway Group Limited (CREC), the contractor of Padma
Bridge Rail Link Project, has termed WednesdayÕs workersÕ clash at its shelter
camps in Mawa as ÔunfortunateÕ incident and expressed sorrow over the matter, according
to press release sent by the company.
The company also asked the government to take practical
measures to ensure the legitimate rights and safety of the company personnel
and prevent such incidents from happening again.
Unfortunately, at around 9 pm on May 6, in one of CRECÕs
shelter camps in Mawa where around 500 local workers are staying, a group of
workers gathered and complained that the temporary allowances are insufficient,
said the press release.
This gathering was organized by a few disgruntled workers
who had been stopped from re-entering the isolated shelter camp after they had
broken the isolation protocol and left the camp for their home in the nearby
villages.
To avoid further escalation, some Bangladeshi security
guards tried to maintain order. Facing the agitated workers, one of the guards
opened his shotgun to the sky to deter the crowd. Eight workers were
unfortunately left with scratches, bruises, and other minor injuries during the
chasing and accidental shooting, and have been shifted to local hospitals for
treatment.
We regret the happening of this incident and hope they can
recover soon, said CREC.
At present the situation in this camp in Mawa has been
brought back to normal while the rest 85 camps remain in their normal condition,
it added.
CREC on the verge of the Coronavirus pandemic, has
undertaken multiple steps to accommodate the well-being of the 4742 local
workers of the project and to keep the implantation of the project uninterrupted
in the current unusual situation.
ÒOne of the key steps was to construct and maintain
temporary shelters for the local workers so that they can stay in isolation
from the nearby villages. From May 6, all of the local workers have been
staying in a total of 86 such isolated shelter camps along the 170 kmÕs route
of the project. It is noteworthy that
CREC are bearing the costs of food and shelter of the
workers while the workers had to pay such costs on their own before they moved
to those shelters.Ó
The press release said, ÒMoreover, all the workers who are
willing to stay in the shelter camps are given an extra allowance of proper
amounts per day. With such arrangements, the execution of the project is
uninterrupted while the exposure of the workers to the risks of Covid-19 is
avoided. Initially the workers were reluctant to shift. But within a short time,
they found it much safer to stay in those isolated camps than stay in the
neighboring villages and therefore most of them have chosen to move in.Ó
ÒIt is mentionable that, CREC has had to spend huge
additional costs for the above arrangements against the pandemic though it has
not received any project interim payment from Bangladesh Railway, the project
owner, in the last 23 months,Ó it added.
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