At least 13 garment factories in the capital’s Mirpur and Pallabi areas announced holidays on Saturday as protests by garment workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000 turned violent, with several factories, shopping complexes and commercial buildings vandalised.
The unrest spread across multiple areas, triggering clashes and chases between protesters and others, while road blockades caused severe traffic congestion.
After moving away from the Mirpur-10 roundabout, protesting workers allegedly vandalised Himalaya Garments, Baghdad Shopping Complex and Mallik Tower in Mirpur-1.
Another incident of vandalism was reported at the 22-storey garments complex in Kalshi Adarsha Nagar under Pallabi Police Station.
According to Industrial Police sources, at least 13 factories announced holidays amid the unrest.
The affected factories include Millennium Textile Ltd, Haesong Korea Ltd, Continental Garments Ltd, Textown Group, Afia Knitwear Ltd, Naim Knitwear Ltd, Jihan Garments Industries Ltd, Leatherex Footwear Ltd, Everbright Sweater Ltd, Green Life Knitex Ltd and Picard Bangladesh Ltd, among others.
The incidents took place between Saturday morning and afternoon.
According to police, a clash broke out between security personnel of Himalaya Garments and protesting workers at around 2:05pm in Mirpur-1 under Shah Ali Police Station.
Workers arriving from Mirpur-10 subsequently vandalised the factory and the adjacent Baghdad Shopping Complex. Around 120 to 150 workers were present at the scene, police said.
Between 3:15pm and 3:25pm, protesters also vandalised Mallik Tower under Shah Ali Police Station.
Police said the incident followed the injury of a worker named Toufiq at Mirpur-10. The protesters allegedly vandalised the building before moving towards Mirpur-2. An estimated 200 to 250 workers were involved.
Meanwhile, another incident of vandalism was reported at the 22-storey garments complex in Kalshi Adarsha Nagar under Pallabi Police Station from around 3:20pm.
According to police, around 100 to 150 protesting workers from outside the area took part in the vandalism.
Earlier in the day, garment workers began blocking roads in different parts of Mirpur, including Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-11, from around 10:30am, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000.
The roadblocks brought traffic to a standstill, causing severe congestion across the area.
At around 2:30pm, the protesters moved away from the Mirpur-10 roundabout and headed towards the market and shopping areas near the shrine in Mirpur-1, where further vandalism was reported. The unrest subsequently spread to neighbouring areas.
Mirpur Division Deputy Commissioner of Police (DC) Mohammad Naser Rikabdar said vandalism took place at the market and commercial areas near the shrine in Mirpur-1 after the workers left the Mirpur-10 roundabout.
He said those involved would be identified through CCTV footage and action would be taken against them.
Additional police personnel have been deployed to bring the situation under control, he added.
