Garment Workers Clash with Police at Signboard in Gazipur’s Gacha, Dispersed with Tear Shells and Sound Grenades

Garment workers clashed with police on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at the Signboard area under Gacha police station in Gazipur. Traffic on the highway stopped after workers took position on the road and began protesting at around 9:30am on Wednesday (November 4).

When members of the law enforcement agencies reached the spot, the workers threw brickbats at them. In response, police fired tear shells and sound grenades to disperse the workers and bring the situation under control. Chase and counter-chase took place between the two sides.

Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Mohammad Amzad Hossain said the situation had been normal since morning. At around 9:30am, between two and four thousand workers came down onto the road in the Gacha police station area. Chase and counter-chase took place with police at the time. The workers were later removed by firing tear shells.

The superintendent also said workers had gathered in the Joydebpur area at around 8:30am as well. They were removed from there too.

He said the situation was good in the Salna, Rajendrapr, Shafipur and Polli Bidyut areas. Some tension prevailed in the Kashimpur area, where law enforcement personnel remained on alert.

The protesting garment factory workers, who are agitating for a wage increase, began the demonstration by taking position on the road at the Signboard area, spreading intense tension on the busy highway, according to accounts from the spot.

Protests, highway blockades, vandalism and arson have been continuing for the past several days in different industrial areas of Gazipur over the demand to re-fix the minimum wage.

Several people, including police personnel and media workers, have been injured in this violence, it was learned.

Yesterday as well, during the movement, fire was set to police vehicles and ordinary vehicles as well as a factory warehouse, putting the overall security of the industrial area under threat.

Police said law enforcement personnel remained positioned in the Signboard area of Gacha after the workers were removed by firing tear shells.