At least 20 garment workers were injured as police charged baton on them after they blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at Maleker Bari area demanding their salaries and other dues.
After the demonstrations, authorities of 50 factories in the area shut down around their units to avert further trouble, police said.
Witnesses said workers of ‘Neat and Neatest Limited’ had been staging demonstrations for the past one week demanding that their arrears be cleared.
On Saturday night, at least 20 workers fell sick after drinking contaminated water at the factory.
On Sunday morning, the factory workers took to the street again to press for the demand. Later, workers from nearby factories joined the protesters and they together blocked the highway, said Kazi Ismail Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gachha Police Station.
Few vehicles and factories were also vandalised during the blockade that triggered acute gridlock around the area.Police charged baton and fired several rounds of teargas shells around 1:45 pm to disperse the agitators.Traffic on the highway resumed around 2 pm after five hours, the OC said.
source: UNB
