Workers clash with police in Gazipur over Tk30,000 wage demand, Dhaka-Tangail highway blocked at Naojor, at least 50 factories shut
A heated situation prevails in Gazipur's industrial belt over workers' protests demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. From Tuesday morning (3 November), repeated chases and clashes took place between workers and police in the district's Naojor and Bhogra Bypass areas.
Police fired tear shells and sound grenades to disperse the workers and bring the situation under control. Several people were injured in the clashes.
Gazipur Metropolitan Police additional commissioner Belayet Hossain said several suspects were detained after the clashes.
Workers began a protest by taking position on the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Naojor area after 9:45am on Tuesday. At one stage they set fire on the road and created a blockade, bringing traffic on the highway to a halt.
When police moved in to control the situation, repeated chases and clashes followed. Alongside police, local BNP and affiliated organisation leaders and activists were also seen taking position on various roads.
Workers also took to the streets at Bhogra Bypass, Konabari and Mouchak areas of the city. Law enforcement members and local BNP leaders and activists were seen positioned in those areas as well.
In Kaliakair's Pallibidyut area, however, there was no highway blockade as on other days, though a tense situation prevailed there.
To avoid untoward incidents, authorities of 50 to 60 garment factories in various industrial areas of Gazipur declared a holiday.
Gazipur Industrial Police superintendent Md Amzad Hossain said, "Workers' movements are taking place in some areas. Fifty factories were given a holiday on Tuesday. Workers have blockaded the highway in the Naojor area. Law enforcement members are there. Efforts are under way to persuade the workers to leave the highway."
On Monday too, widespread tension was created in the Naojor area over the workers' protest. Police said multiple police vehicles were set on fire that day.
For the past several days, workers in various Gazipur industrial areas have staged protests, highway blockades, vandalism and arson over the wage hike demand. Police and journalists were among several people injured, and police vehicles, other vehicles and a factory warehouse were set on fire. Additional law enforcement members have been deployed at important roads and points in the industrial belt to control the situation.
