Published: 12:13 AM, 02 November 2026
Workers’ Protest Turns Violent: Police Attacked
In demand of a minimum monthly wage BDT 30,000, garment workers blockade road in Mirpur-10 intersection area in the capital on Sunday. -Md Mostafijur Rahman
Protests, road blockades, clashes and incidents of arson by readymade garments (RMG) workers in Gazipur demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000 kept the situation tense throughout the day. As a result, the Dhaka-Tangail Highway remained completely paralyzed for six consecutive hours.
The workers' protests began at 9 a.m. on Sunday (1 November 2026), bringing traffic to a halt at several points along the Dhaka-Tangail Highway. At least 25 people were injured in repeated clashes between workers and police. Three journalists were also injured in attacks by workers. Incidents of arson involving police boxes, vehicles, police cars and a scrap-fabric warehouse belonging to a garment factory were reported at different locations. After nearly six hours, traffic on the highway began returning to normal at around 3 p.m.
According to discussions with industrial police personnel and workers, protests began in the morning in Chandra, Palli Bidyut, Safipur and Mouchak areas of Kaliakair Upazila, as well as in Konabari, Bhogra and Naojor areas of Gazipur Metropolitan City. At one point, hundreds of workers took positions on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway, disrupting traffic at several sections.
During the demonstrations, a police box beside the highway in the Konabari area was set on fire. Vehicles were vandalized and torched at several locations. Around noon, a scrap-fabric warehouse belonging to Tropical Limited, a garment factory in the Chandra Palli Bidyut area of Kaliakair, was also set on fire. A police vehicle was also torched. These incidents spread panic throughout the surrounding areas.
To bring the situation under control, members of the local police and industrial police arrived at the scene and attempted to remove the workers from the highway. This led to repeated chases, counter-chases and clashes between workers and police. Police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades, while workers hurled bricks and stones at law enforcement personnel. Around 25 workers were injured in the clashes. They were rescued and taken to local clinics for treatment.
Three journalists were attacked while covering the demonstrations and collecting photographs and news reports in the Palli Bidyut area. They were Jahangir Alam, Gazipur correspondent of Deepto TV; Abu Sayeed, Kaliakair correspondent of NTV; and local photojournalist Riazul Islam.
As the protests spread, more than 50 garment factories in different parts of Gazipur declared holidays. Many workers who had reported for duty in the morning later joined the demonstrations. The situation became more volatile after the factories announced closures and workers took to the streets. Incidents of arson, attacks on business establishments and vandalism were reported in several areas.
Mohammad Khairul, a worker at the local Divine Textile factory, said that it had become increasingly difficult to run a household on existing wages given the rising prices of essential commodities. He said workers were struggling to meet expenses for house rent, food and medical treatment. They had been forced to take to the streets out of desperation. "We want to work. We want wages that will allow us to survive," he said.
On Saturday, workers had also staged demonstrations and blocked the highway around Chandra Palli Bidyut and the Ansar Academy area of Kaliakair, demanding the same wage increase. At least 30 people were injured in clashes between workers and police that day. At least 15 vehicles were vandalized. Around 20 factories declared holidays.
Gazipur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Nurul Karim Bhuiyan said five platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) had been deployed to maintain control of the situation.
Meanwhile, the prolonged blockade of the highway caused severe disruption to long-distance buses, cargo trucks and other vehicles traveling along the Dhaka-Tangail route. Passengers and transport workers faced immense hardship. Many passengers got off their buses and continued their journeys on foot.
A passenger named Akbar Ali, who was stranded in the Shafipur area, said, "I was traveling to Dhaka for urgent work. However, traffic had come to a complete standstill because of the workers' protests. Eventually, I had no choice but to get off the bus and walk a considerable distance. Nobody seems to be thinking about the ordinary passengers."
Gazipur Industrial Zone Police Superintendent Mohammad Amzad Hossain said that five to six vehicles had been vandalized during the workers' demonstrations. He added that although a factory warehouse had been set on fire, it had not yet been established whether the fire was started by the workers or by miscreants. He said police had fired tear gas shells to bring the situation under control after workers began throwing bricks and stones.
Meanwhile, the government formed a new six-member wage board on Sunday afternoon to recommend an increase in garment workers' wages. However, the workers had not been informed of the development and continued their protests.
Later on Gazipur-1 constituency Member of Parliament (MP) Mohammad Mujibur Rahman spoke with the protesting workers, initially in the Bhogra and Naojor areas along the Dhaka-Tangail Highway and subsequently in Konabari of Gazipur Metropolitan City and Safipur and Chandra areas of Kaliakair. He urged the workers to withdraw from the highway and return to their workplaces.
>>Mahabub Alam, AA
