Over 50 garment workers fall ill again in Tongi

More than fifty workers at Hamim Group’s CCL (Unit-3) garment factory in Tongi Millgate fell ill on Sunday morning (November 30), reportedly due to panic following a colleague’s death.

The affected workers were admitted to Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital in Tongi and other nearby hospitals.

According to workers, on Saturday, quality inspector Lutfor Rahman suddenly fell ill and later died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. The news triggered panic among at least 50 workers in the sewing department, forcing the factory to declare a holiday for the day.

When work resumed on Sunday, over fifty workers again fell ill. Several, including Sharmin, 25, Amena, 29, Julfa, 19, Zulekha, 40, Bilkis, 43, Khadija, 25, Zakia, 24, Farzana, 28, Burina, 26, Romiza, 26, Saima, 25, Nur Nahar, 30, Rina, 35, Asma, 35, Belayet Hossain, 30, Sabuj, 42, Arifa, 28, Renuja, 23, and Abdus Salam, 40, received treatment.

Some seriously ill workers were transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Hamim Group’s General Manager Mizanur Rahman said the panic from Saturday continued on Sunday, leading to hospitalizations, and confirmed the factory was closed for the day.

Tongi Shaheed Ahsan Ullah Master General Hospital doctor Ishrat Jahan Any noted that the workers were suffering from mass panic disorder, though many were also physically weak.