The fire of CTG affects Readymade Garments Industry & destroys the supply chain.

CTG fire incident which took place in Sitakunda BM DEPORT caused at least 49 lives & left hundreds of people wounded including Fire Fighters, Police, Locals & DEPORT Workers. The loss of lives can’t be calculated or measured through money as life is invaluable. However, the numbers elementary loses are guessed by authority related to the goods kept in the port. From several sources, we have come to know that this incident took place because of a fire outbreak near the containers which contain flammable Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2). Later this small sparkle of the fire converted into a massive burst & brook almost every glass of home within 5 KM range. Apart from that, it has laid down a massive amount of loss to the RMG sector of Bangladesh. According to The Business Standard, A CTG-based garment factory named SANTEX KNITWEARS LTD. sent 29,000 pieces of Jackets Worth $3,50,000 to America & Canada which were waiting at BM DEPORT for shipments purpose. Like SANTEX there are many other RMG factories on the list that sent their goods to BM DEPORT for shipment purposes. Most of them are FOB-based deals which means the responsibility of the exporter ends when the export goods are handed over to the freight forwarder agent. So, Companies are worried about their payments for the goods which burned down to ashes in the fire. Responding that, Khairul Alam Sujan, vice president of Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BFFA), said, “Export goods are protected under insurance. Thus, garment owners are likely to receive compensation in case of any damage” According to Mr. Rakibul Alam Chowdhury, Vice President of BGMEA, Apparel Products from 8 Group of Industry had been damaged due to the fire outbreak at DEPORT. The name of the companies are:

• KDS GROUP
• Asian Apparels
• Four H Groups
• Pacific Jeans
• Santex Knitwears LTD.
• Arrow Fabrics
• Sea Blue Textiles

Combined of them almost worth $18 million in products were damaged at the port. Besides these, a massive amount of Hydrogen Peroxide was wasted at the port which is an important part of the textile industry. It is widely used as a bleaching agent. It suits almost every fiber and for that reason is also widely used for various machines under different conditions. Around 4,300 containers were damaged at DEPORT. The time & money required to fix this port again is uncertain. Seems like it has become an unforgettable tragic history of Bangladesh. Apart from that in a recent statement, Ziaur Rahman, Country Manager of H&M, told that H&M will pay the prices for the product they found at the port which was supposed to be shipped but burned due to the fire outbreak. It may be a pain reliever for factory owners.