Traffic Returns to Normal on Dhaka-Tangail Highway After Four-and-a-Half-Hour Blockade

Traffic returned to normal on Monday (2 November) on the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur after a four-and-a-half-hour blockade by workers demanding a minimum wage of Tk 30,000. Traffic resumed around 12 noon when the protesting workers left the highway, and it remained normal until 2pm.

Eyewitnesses said workers began the protest by blockading the Dhaka-Tangail highway at the Palli Bidyut area of Kaliakair upazila in Gazipur around 8am on Monday. They also took positions and demonstrated at various other points on the highway.

During the blockade, the workers gathered jhut cloth, bamboo and wood and set them on fire on the highway, eyewitnesses said.

Members of the industrial police, district police and BGB reached the scene to bring the situation under control. Law enforcement members later dispersed the workers by firing tear shells and sound grenades.

Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Mohammad Amjad Hossain said traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail highway had stopped because of the workers' blockade. Members of the law enforcement agencies, including the industrial police, worked to bring the situation under control and restore traffic, he said.

Police and local residents said workers began protests from the morning in Konabari, Mouchak, Palli Bidyut, Chandra, Bhogra, Naojor, Signboard and other areas of Gazipur. At one stage they blockaded both the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways, severely disrupting vehicle movement and causing suffering to thousands of people.

Although workers withdrew from some areas, protests continued until noon in others. During this time, workers set fire to a police vehicle in the Naojor area and a covered van in the Safipur area. Some vehicles were also vandalised.

Chases and counter-chases, brick throwing and tear shell firing took place among police, BGB and workers. Several journalists and one BGB member were injured in these incidents.

In this situation, the authorities of more than 150 garment factories in different areas of Gazipur declared a holiday for Monday.

Gazipur Industrial Zone-2 Police Superintendent Md Amjad Hossain said police and BGB members brought the situation under control from the afternoon. Two vehicles, including a police vehicle, were set on fire. Police detained 30 people in connection with the protests, blockades, vandalism and arson.