Workers from several garment factories in the Bhogra bypass area of Gazipur, on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, have been protesting for a few days, demanding an increase in wages.
When the workers attempted to block the highway on Thursday morning, the police responded by firing sound grenades and tear gas shells to disperse them.
The protest initially started with workers from TM Fashion Limited in the Bypass area of Gazipur at around 8:30 am on Thursday. Subsequently, employees from other factories, including Belmond Garments, Brothers Fashion Limited, and Rua Fashion Limited, joined them, taking position in front of the factories to voice their wage increase demands.
Both police and factory workers have reported that over 150 factories in Gazipur were closed during the protests, although some factories remained operational today.
At around 8:30 in the morning, the workers from TM Fashion garment factory, situated in Jobaida Tower in the Chandana Chowrasta area of Gazipur city, initiated their protest on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.
When the workers tried to block the highway with a procession at around 9:00 am, Industrial Police and Basan station police fired sound grenades and tear gas shells, causing the workers to disperse. Subsequently, the agitated workers regrouped and took position along the highway.
Apart from this, the workers of Belmond Garments, Brothers Fashion Limited, Rua Fashion Limited in the Chowdhurybari area of the city protested to demand an increase in wages.
Abu Siddique, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Basan Police Station in Gazipur, stated that the majority of garment factories in Gazipur were closed, but a few remained open. Workers from those open factories gathered and staged protests on the highway.
During this time, the workers attempted to block the highway but were brought under control. There is a substantial police presence, with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members also deployed in certain areas.
