THE findings of a survey that the physical health of survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse has deteriorated in the nine years since the disaster, especially during the Covid outbreak, are worrying because this suggests that the survivors did not receive adequate government support over the years and little or no support during the outbreak. The Rana Plaza collapse on April 24, 2013 left at least 1,138 dead and about 2,500 injured. The study by Action Aid, made public on April 18, says that about 56.5 per cent of the 200 survivors surveyed complain of headache, back pain and pain in the hand or leg. Further worrying is that the situation appears to have worsened during the Covid outbreak. The study shows that physical health remains somewhat stable for 33 per cent and completely stable for 10.5 per cent of the people surveyed while the figures were 58.5 per cent and 27.5 per cent in 2021. The number of survivors suffering from mental health issues, meanwhile, increased to 48.5 per cent from 12.5 per cent of the people surveyed in a year. The situation brings to the fore the lack of government support for the survivors.

The study also says that most survivors expect government support in the forms of employment opportunities, easy loans to start businesses and access to health care. The income of most of the survivors who are employed fell drastically as a result of the Covid economic shock. About 63.5 per cent of the survivors had difficulty buying food, 51.5 per cent were unable to pay rent and 46.5 per cent had to take loans to survive during the outbreak. That the Rana Plaza collapse survivors, part of the apparel sector that is said to be one mainstay of the national economy, have not received adequate support from the government, especially amidst Covid hardships, is unacceptable. The government has provided stimulus package for big industries, including the apparel sector, to deal with the Covid economic fallouts. But it is apparent that the survivors of one of the worst industrial disasters were not in government focus. The government and owners of the Rana Plaza building and factories housed there were all in one way or another responsible for the disaster that left the survivors with physical pain and mental trauma. The government and all other parties involved should not, therefore, shirk responsibilities towards the Rana Plaza collapse survivors in any way.

The government must, therefore, immediately provide the survivors of the Rana Plaza collapse with cash and other aids. While the government and the authorities concerned must come up with a long-term plan to help the survivors, the access of the survivors to treatment and rehabilitation must be ensured.