At least 30 garment factories in Ashulia announced holidays on Saturday amid workers’ protests demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000. Workers also staged demonstrations and blocked roads in Mirpur and Ashulia, disrupting traffic for several hours.
The protests began at different locations in the two areas on Saturday morning. Workers took to the streets and blocked roads, causing severe inconvenience to commuters.
Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, said authorities had declared holidays at at least 30 factories in Kathgara and surrounding areas due to labour unrest. Two police personnel were reportedly injured after being hit by bricks thrown by protesters.
Meanwhile, Pallabi Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Jalal Uddin said workers withdrew from the Mirpur-10 roundabout around 2:30pm, and traffic resumed there after nearly four hours. However, road blockades were still continuing in Mirpur-11 and Kalshi around 3pm.
Bhuiyan said three cocktail-like objects had been recovered from Ashulia. He also alleged that rumours were being spread through various social media groups to incite workers.
He said the situation remained tense, with workers occupying several locations and potentially disrupting operations at other factories. Police were trying to persuade them to return to work, he added.
