Police disperse garment workers after nearly 4-hour road blockade in Uttara

Police dispersed garment workers from the Azampur road in the capital’s Uttara area shortly before 11:45 am on Thursday, ending a blockade that had lasted nearly four hours.

The workers had occupied the road from 8:00 am, demanding payment of arrears, wage increases and other benefits, bringing traffic to a standstill on the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway and causing severe congestion.

Uttara West Police Station officer-in-charge Khalid Mansur confirmed the incident to Prothom Alo. He said traffic had come to a halt because the garment workers had occupied the road for an extended period.

As they refused to leave despite repeated requests, police dispersed them by chasing them away and firing sound grenades. Traffic resumed shortly before 11:45am, he added.

According to police and garment workers, employees from several factories began demonstrating on both sides of the highway near Azampur at around 8:30 am on Thursday, demanding payment of outstanding wages, higher pay and other benefits.

The workers had also staged protests on Tuesday and Wednesday over the same demands. Their demonstrations over three consecutive days severely disrupted traffic at key points along the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway.

With vehicles unable to move around Azampur and Rajlakkhi, severe congestion stretched from Uttara towards the airport road, causing considerable hardship for office-goers, commuters and pedestrians.

Worker Akhtar Hossain said the rising cost of essential goods had made it impossible to make ends meet on current wages. He said they had repeatedly appealed to the relevant authorities to settle their outstanding payments and address their demands, but received no resolution, leaving them with no choice but to take to the streets.