Law enforcers used sound grenades to disperse garment workers in the capital’s Uttara area on Thursday.
Md Rezaul Karim, deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) Uttara Division, confirmed the development to TIMES.
However, no baton charge was carried out, he said.
The workers blocked the road at Rajlakshmi around 9:30am, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. Traffic movement came to a halt following the blockade.
Kamrul Hasan Talukder, officer-in-charge of Airport Police Station, said the workers left the road around noon after police intervention.
Traffic movement resumed soon afterwards, he said.
On Wednesday, the workers blocked Airport Road from 11am to 1:30pm in support of their demand. The blockade brought traffic on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway to a standstill, causing severe congestion on the highway and surrounding roads.
Dhaka-Mymensingh highway blocked for an hour
Workers of C Stage BD Limited blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur’s Sreepur around 8:30am, demanding payment of their outstanding wages.
Police later dispersed the workers by firing sound grenades and restored traffic after about an hour.
The workers blocked the highway in the MC Bazar area of Mulaid village. They alleged that the factory authorities had promised on 13 October to clear their September dues.
They returned to the streets after the authorities failed to pay the arrears on the promised date. Instead, the factory declared a general holiday on Thursday, they claimed.
Industrial Police later reached the scene and proposed holding discussions with the factory authorities to restore traffic and resolve the payment issue. The workers rejected the proposal and continued the blockade.
The protest caused long tailbacks on both sides of the highway, disrupting traffic movement for commuters and transport operators.
At one stage, police fired sound grenades to disperse the workers and clear the highway.
Kamruzzaman, officer-in-charge of Mawna Highway Police Station, said the highway remained blocked for about an hour.
“The workers were later removed from the road, and traffic is now moving as usual,” he said.
Mohammad Amjad Hossain, superintendent of police of Gazipur Industrial Police-2, said police had asked the workers to leave the highway and offered to arrange talks with the factory owners.
When the workers did not respond to the request and continued the blockade, police fired several sound grenades to clear the road, he said.
The official added that a decision regarding the workers’ payments would be made following discussions with the factory authorities.
