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Garment workers clashed with police in Ashulia, Savar, on Monday as protests over wage hike demands escalated, prompting police to fire several rounds of tear gas to disperse demonstrators.
The clashes began shortly after 10:00am in the Narsinghpur and Nischintapur areas along the Abdullahpur-Baipail road. Tensions remained high, with workers and police facing each other at the scene.
Most garment factories located along the road declared a general holiday amid the unrest.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Operations and Intelligence) of Industrial Police-1, Shoaib Ahmed, said police were working to bring the situation under control.
According to eyewitnesses, agitated workers initially gathered in front of Ananta and later moved towards Ha-Meem, where brickbats were thrown. Workers from several factories attempted to block the road over their demands, triggering tension with law enforcement personnel.
As clashes and chases broke out, police fired tear gas to disperse the workers.
Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, said workers entered their factories in the morning and punched their attendance cards before gradually leaving their workplaces after 9:00am to take to the streets.
He said workers from a New Age Group factory in Narsinghpur were the first to come out, followed by workers from Knit Asia, Ananta, Trouser Line and several other nearby factories.
Later in the afternoon, workers gathered in front of Al-Muslim Garments in the Ullail area of Savar and attempted to block the Dhaka-Aricha highway. A large number of police personnel arrived and fired tear gas to disperse them.
Eyewitnesses said some people were seen throwing brickbats at police during the demonstration. However, they suspected that outsiders might have infiltrated the protesters and attempted to escalate tensions.
Additional police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order as the situation remained tense, with workers and police still facing each other.
