A female garment worker received bullet injury when a clash broke out between police and garments workers in the capital Sunday.
Police said hundreds of workers of four garments factories blocked highway on Kuril Bishwa Road demanding a raise and other benefits, which disrupted traffic movement for two hours.
Witnesses said, the long tailback spread to Kuril Biswaroad, Banani and Airport area due to the road block, while many passengers, including office and school goers, started walking to their destinations. The garment workers engaged in scuffle with police as the law enforcers tried to move the worker and to remove the blockade from the highway, added witnesses.
Later, a chase and counter chase took place, and at one stage of the clash police opened fire at workers where Khadiza, 27, a worker of Nasa Garment received rubber bullets in her left hand.
Workers of Mohammadia, Platik, ATN and Nasa garment factories blocked the highway around 9am and police took the situation under control around 11am. But it took more than three hours to get the traffic movement normal in the area.
Iqbal Hossain, officer-in-charge of Khilkhet police station, said the office going people had to face severe traffic congestion in the morning as vehicular movement from Kuril Bishwa Road to Airport remained suspended for two hours during the blockade.
Khandoker Lutful Kabir, deputy commissioner of Gulshan Division, said they tried to remove the agitated workers by negotiation but they had to throw tear shells and fire rubber bullets to oust them as the workers were not paying attention to the negotiation dialogue.