CPD regrets factual error in factory closure data

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has acknowledged a factual error in data presented at a media dialogue on the first six months of the new government, saying the mistake occurred because its research team relied on a media report without verifying the original source.

The private think tank said in a note yesterday that a slide presented at its media dialogue held on August 24 this year, titled “The first six months of the new government: an economic review”, stated that 95 factories had completely shut down in three major industrial areas -- Gazipur, Savar-Ashulia and Narayanganj-Narsingdi -- between January and August this year, leaving 61,881 people unemployed.

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The information was cited in the report’s industry and trade section.

The CPD said its research methodology relied on various primary and secondary sources, including parliamentary and ministerial statements, the national budget, media reports, press releases and a report titled “180 Days of the People’s Government”.

According to the CPD, the data had been taken from a report published on the website of a local news outlet on August 22, which later corrected the report at 4:34pm yesterday.

“We did not verify the original source of the information while preparing the report,” the CPD research team said in an explanation issued by its Dialogue and Communication Division.

The research team expressed regret for the inadvertent confusion caused by the error and said it would be more careful in the future to avoid such factual inaccuracies.

The CPD, however, said its concerns over factory closures were not unfounded, noting that various business organisations and their leaders had recently made statements about the closure of industrial establishments.

“This is why we highlighted the issue,” the research team said, adding that the government should pay special attention to the matter despite the error in the specific data presented.

The explanation was issued by Avro Bhattacharya, additional director of the CPD’s Dialogue and Communication Division. The research team also thanked The Dissent, which had brought the factual discrepancy to its attention, for its professionalism.