Garment workers staged protests and blocked roads in Gazipur's industrial belt on Monday, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000, triggering violent clashes with law enforcement agencies.
At least 10 people, including a BGB member, police personnel, journalists and BNP activists, were injured in the clashes. More than 150 factories declared general holidays amid fears of further unrest.
Thousands of workers began gathering early Monday at Palli Bidyut in Safipur and Chandra intersection in Kaliakair along the Dhaka-Tangail highway. Without any prior announcement, they took to the streets, staging demonstrations and blocking the highway.
The protests soon escalated into clashes, chases and counter-chases, vandalism and arson. Police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse the protesters.
A police vehicle was set on fire during the clashes, while several other incidents of vandalism and arson were reported in different areas. After nearly five hours of blockade, traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail highway gradually returned to normal.
The blockade caused severe traffic congestion along the key economic corridor, leaving long-distance buses and other vehicles stranded for hours. Road communication between Dhaka and northern Bangladesh was also temporarily disrupted.
Around 11:00am, police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel jointly moved to clear the highway and restore traffic. They initially tried to persuade the workers to leave the road but failed. When law enforcers attempted to disperse them, the situation turned violent.
A section of agitated workers hurled brickbats at police and BGB personnel, seriously injuring one BGB member. Law enforcers then fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to bring the situation under control.
Around noon, the situation deteriorated further in the Naojor area of Gazipur city, where protesters vandalised several police vehicles and set one of them on fire, causing extensive damage.
Journalists covering the incidents also came under attack.
Three journalists were injured while covering the clashes in Naojor. The injured journalists alleged that the attackers were posing as garment workers to create chaos and disrupt public order.
The injured included Mehedi Hasan, Gazipur correspondent of Somoy TV, his cameraman, Reza Islam, a cameraman of SA TV, and Ifthekhar Raihan of Ekhon TV.
The attackers also vandalised Somoy TV's camera and assaulted its cameraman, beating him during the incident.
On Sunday, several journalists, including Dipto TV's Gazipur correspondent Jahangir Alam, were also reportedly attacked and physically assaulted while covering a workers' protest in the Chandra area. Their mobile phones were also snatched.
Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Amzad Hossain said more than 150 factories had declared general holidays to avert further unrest amid the continued demonstrations over the minimum wage demand.
He said members of the district police, metropolitan police, industrial police and BGB were jointly working on the ground to prevent the situation from spiralling out of control. The situation had gradually started to calm down following the joint forces' efforts, he added.
Kaliakair Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahidul Islam said workers from the main factories had returned home after staging demonstrations in the morning.
However, he claimed that many of those occupying the roads and engaging in vandalism were not genuine workers and might be involved in a conspiracy to destabilise the country.
He said traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail highway had gradually returned to normal after noon through the coordinated efforts of law enforcement agencies.
Kaliakair Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) AHM Fakhrul Hossain said the administration was taking the workers' demands seriously and coordinating with the relevant authorities to address their legitimate grievances.
He urged all concerned to remain peaceful to ease public suffering and maintain a normal working environment in industrial establishments.
The administration would continue taking necessary measures to maintain stability, he added.