Thousands of garment workers took to the streets at Savar, Gazipur and Narayanganj this morning to protest against the deaths of their fellow workers in a building collapse at Savar near the capital yesterday.
The workers gathered at Savar-Gazipur main road, at Rupganj, Adamjee EPZ and at Fatulla in Narayanganj around 10am and subsequently vandalised several vehicles.
The aggrieved garment workers attacked commercial structures including garment factories and also set fire to vehicles at Savar Gazipur and Narayanganj, said police.
At least 175 people, mostly garment workers, were killed while over 1,000 injured as an eight-storey building that housed several garment factories collapsed near Savar bus stand Wednesday.
Meanwhile, several hundreds garment workers laid siege to the BGMEA building at the capital’s Karwan Bazar around 11am.
The workers gathered in front of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) building after coming out of different garment factories and hurled bricks at the building.
During the demonstration in front of the building, the workers demanded capital punishment to the people responsible for the deaths of their fellow workers in Savar.
Later, police chased the workers off the spot, said locals.
In Savar, the rescue operation is still on-going as, according to local police, some 400 people are still trapped under the rubble.
Mahbub Alam,director of industrial police, unit 4, Narayanganj, told Dhaka Tribune the situation was under control by noon.
Mostafizur Rahman, director of industrial police, Ashulia division,said,“A good number of lawmen have been deployed to avert further deterioration of the situation.”
Meanwhile, the garment factory owners have suspended operations in most of the factories located in Gazipur and Savar shortly after the demonstration started.
