Experts urge govt to declare heatwave a disaster
Experts at a seminar today (27 April) urged the government to declare the ongoing heatwave as a disaster and include heat issues in climate change related policies.
They also demanded financial assistance to the families of workers who recently lost their lives due to heatstroke, special social protection programmes for people of severe heat-prone dry areas and inclusion of heatstroke as occupational health hazard in the country's labour law.
They made the demands at the seminar titled 'Impact of Climate Change on Occupational Health and Safety and Biochemical Hazard in Workplace' organised by the Bangladesh Occupational Safety Health and Environment (OSHE) Foundation at a hotel in Dhaka.
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Jahangirnagar University Professor Sheikh Tawhidul Islam presented the keynote at the seminar presided over by OSHE Foundation Chairperson Saki Rezwana.
It was informed at the seminar that due to intense heat, productivity worth $2.7 billion is lost in Dhaka every year and if this trend continues, by the year 2030 there will be a loss of $6 billion in the garment sector alone while nearly 2.5 lakh garment workers will be at risk of losing their jobs.
