A group of cleaners dumped garbage on the road in the capital’s Nababganj area on Tuesday to protest against unpaid wages.
The incident took place around 1pm beside the STS on the main road, causing slow traffic as vehicles had to move through one side of the street.
Confirming the matter through a video posted on social media, Traffic Sergeant Anisur Rahman said the cleaners' protest had significantly slowed down traffic.
“The cleaners dumped garbage in the middle of the road to demand their outstanding wages,” he said.
In a video circulating on social media, a protesting cleaner said: “We have not been paid for a long time. We are protesting this way out of desperation. If we are promised our dues, we will clean the road ourselves.”
When contacted, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Public Relations Officer Mokbul Hossain said the protesting workers were not directly employed by the city corporation. “They are hired through a contractor,” he added.
“We will investigate why they have not been paid and why this situation arose, and share details later,” he said.
According to inquiries, the waste removal work was contracted out to a company named Narayanganj Dockyard, which in turn outsourced it to another firm called Dhaka Pacific. This company further sub-contracted vehicles from other parties. Owners of dump trucks and payloaders have reportedly not been paid for the past four months, prompting the cleaners' protest.