Workers set fire on highway in Gazipur's Naojor blockade, traffic halted up to Joydebpur Chowrasta

Workers set fire to the Dhaka-Tangail highway and blocked it in the Naojor area of Gazipur. The incident took place in front of the Diganta Sweater factory at around 9:30am on Tuesday (November 3), halting traffic on the road from Joydebpur Chowrasta to Naojor Mor.

Eyewitnesses said the workers brought rubbish and waste piled beside the highway onto the road and set it alight. All kinds of vehicles, including auto-rickshaws and motorcycles, were prevented from moving. At one stage, several workers were seen playing cricket on the highway.

Journalists present at the scene were obstructed when they tried to speak to the protesting workers and collect information, photographs and video. There are also allegations that journalists were not even allowed to stand in the Naojor area of Gazipur city.

Earlier, shortly before 8am on Tuesday, several workers tried to block the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Mouchak area of Kaliakair, Gazipur. Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Mohammad Amjad Hossain had said members of the law enforcement agencies persuaded the workers to leave the highway without any conflict. He also said agency members were on alert at every point of the highway.

Later, speaking about the Naojor blockade, Superintendent Amjad Hossain said there was no road blockade in Gazipur. However, he said, when workers tried to stage a blockade in the Naojor area of the city, they were persuaded and moved off the road.