Garment workers and locals went on a berserk in the city’s Malibagh Chowdhurypara area on Tuesday following the death of two female RMG workers, torching one bus and damaging around 35-40 vehicles.
The victims were identified as Meem Akhter, 13, and Nahid Parveen Poly, 19, workers of MH Garments Factory.A Gazipur-bound bus of ‘Suprabhat Paribahan’ hit them while they were crossing the road near Abul Hotel around 1:30pm.
Meem died on the spot and Parveen was seriously injured, said police Sergeant Shuvo Kumar Dey.Parveen was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors pronounced her dead, said sub-inspector Bachchu Mia, in-charge of DMCH police outpost.
Police seized the bus and arrested the driver, he added.As the death news spread around, garment workers took to the streets and damaged several buses.Later, police took the situation under control.However, the garment workers and the locals took to the streets again around 5pm and started staging demonstrations protesting the death of the female RMG workers in the road accident.
At one stage, they blocked the road on the opposite side of Hajipara CNG Refilling Station, forcing the police to suspend traffic on both carriageways of the road.
At that time, they set fire to a bus and damaged around 30 others.Although a fire-fighting unit started moving to the spot on information, it could not reach there as the road was blocked. However, the fire was doused by locals.
Later, police charged baton on the agitators and brought the situation under control.Traffic on the road resumed around 6:30pm.
A UNB journalist who came to office on foot for want of vehicles in the area saw 11 damaged buses, including an air-conditioned one, stranded on the west carriageway of the road from Hajipara CNG Refilling Station to Padma Movie House.Besides, the broken glasses of vehicles were found on both sides of the road from the mouth of Wapda Road in Rampura to the cinema hall.
source: UNB
