Police on Tuesday stopped several hundred day labourers from marching on the residence of opposition leader Khaleda Zia in Gulshan to protest against the ongoing nationwide blockade by the BNP-led alliance.
The workers, under the banner of “Khete Khaoa Shromojibi Manush” (hard-working people), started their protest march around 12:30pm from the capital’s Mohakhali area.
But when the procession reached Gulshan-2 at 1pm, it was intercepted by a large number of police in riot gear.
The protesting workers then sat down on the road behind the police barricade and held a rally on the spot.
The protesters said they wanted to lay siege on Khaleda’s residence as the opposition’s non-stop blockade programme had left them without any work, depriving them of a living.
Chanting various slogans, they demanded immediate withdrawal of the ongoing shutdown so they could go back to work.
The workers also urged the BNP leader to refrain from calling “such destructive” protest programmes in the future. They then left the area peacefully.
Rafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Gulshan police station, said the law enforcers resorted to putting up barricades to stop the agitated workers from moving towards Khaleda’s house.
“We stopped them as part of cautionary measures, so that no untoward incident could happen,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, security measures were intensified around the opposition leader’s house with the deployment of additional forces ahead of on Tuesday’s planned protest.
On Moday, a similar procession by hundreds of transport workers from Mohakhali bus terminal towards Khaleda Zia’s residence was stopped by police near Gulshan-2.
The transport workers, led by Ali Hossain, president of Chalak League, complained that they were the victims of continuous hartals and blockade programmes. They also sought protection from vandalism and arson attacks on vehicles by picketers that have led to the deaths of several transport workers recently.
