Workers block highway at Mouchak in Gazipur: traffic resumes after about an hour as tear shells are fired
Workers from several garment factories have blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway at the Mouchak area of Gazipur and staged a protest demanding an increase in the minimum wage.
On Thursday (12 November) at around 8:45 in the morning, the workers stopped work at their factories, took position at the Mouchak area of the Dhaka-Tangail highway and began the blockade.
Because of the blockade, traffic from the Safipur section of the highway stopped and a long tailback formed. Passengers and transport drivers using that road fell into suffering.
Members of the police, the BGB and the industrial police are working to bring the situation under control and keep traffic moving normally.
Md Amjad Hossain, superintendent of police for Gazipur Industrial Area-2, said the agitated workers had come out of their workplaces and blocked the road. He said members of the law enforcement agencies are working to move them from the road and restore normal traffic.
Traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail highway resumed at around 10 in the morning on Thursday, about an hour after the blockade began. Members of the law enforcement agencies fired tear shells and sound grenades to move the workers off the highway, after which traffic began returning to normal. The blockade was at the Mouchak area of Kaliakair upazila in Gazipur.
Police and BGB members took position at the scene to bring the situation under control. Once the workers dispersed and left the road, traffic started moving. Meanwhile, considering the worker unrest and the overall situation, the authorities declared a holiday at several garment factories in Mouchak and the surrounding areas.
Md Amjad Hossain, superintendent of police for Gazipur Industrial Area-2, said tear shells and sound grenades were fired at around 10am to disperse the workers and remove them from the highway. Traffic has since resumed, he said, and members of the law enforcement agencies remain on alert to keep the situation under control.
