Ten platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh have been deployed in Gazipur to maintain law and order amid ongoing garment workers’ protests demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. They are being assisted by 21 executive magistrates.
Arif Hossain, assistant commissioner of the Media and Research Cell at the Gazipur deputy commissioner’s office, confirmed the deployment in a message sent to the Media Cell DC of Gazipur group at 8:26am on Monday.
Sources at the deputy commissioner’s office and Industrial Police said Industrial Police, district police, BGB personnel and executive magistrates were working together to keep the situation under control.
Amjad Hossain, superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police, said around 1,500 workers gathered in the Palli Bidyut area along the Dhaka-Tangail highway at around 8:30am on Monday, bringing traffic to a standstill.
BGB personnel, Industrial Police and other law enforcement agencies have been deployed in Chandra, Palli Bidyut, Safipur, Konabari and Mouchak to manage the situation and restore traffic movement, he added.
Garment workers in Gazipur have been protesting for the past two days, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. Thousands of workers have occupied the highway at different points, halting traffic and causing severe inconvenience to long-distance bus passengers and other commuters.
The protests initially involved road blockades in Mouchak, Safipur and the Chandra-Palli Bidyut areas of Kaliakair, bringing traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail highway to a complete halt.
During the unrest, gates of several factories in the Palli Bidyut area of Kaliakair were vandalized. A police box was also vandalized in Mouchak, another was set on fire beneath the Konabari flyover, and a pickup van was torched in front of the Ansar Academy.
The unrest later spread to nearby industrial areas, including Ratanpur, Konabari and Kashimpur. Operations at around 30 factories in these areas were suspended amid the protests.
Why it matters
The deployment of paramilitary forces and magistrates addresses severe industrial unrest and highway blockades disrupting manufacturing operations in Gazipur.