Several garment factory workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway by setting fire to tires to demand a salary hike as per the new wage board announced by the government.
The protest led to a 20km-long tailback of vehicles created on both sides of the highway.
The incident took place in Hatubhanga area of Gokai upazila at 8pm on Thursday night.
According to locals, employees from Newtech Group of Industries, Khan Garments, and some others in the Gogai industrial area staged a protest by blocking the highway at Hatuvanga in Gogai.
During the protest, agitated workers set fire to tires, leading to a significant traffic jam on both sides of the highway.
Many garment factory workers voiced their dissatisfaction, stating that although the government has announced a minimum salary scale of Tk12,500 for garment factory workers, the factory owners have not implemented it. This discontent among workers has been brewing for the past few days.
Upon receiving the news, police officials rushed to the scene.
However, as of the latest report, the situation has yet to come under control.
Additionally, Mirzapur police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Rezaul Karim said that efforts are being made to manage the situation.
