Garment workers block Mirpur road over factory closure

They took up positions on the road in Kochukhet and blocked it from 9:15am to around 10:30am

Workers have blocked a road in Kochukhet of Dhaka’s Mirpur to protest the closure of a garment factory, resulting in traffic grinding to a halt in the area for over an hour.

They took up positions on the road from 9:15am to around 10:30am on Tuesday, said Tania Sultana, assistant commissioner of the Traffic Police Pallabi Zone.

Police say the workers first took up positions on one side of the road and formed a human chain as a demonstration to protest the closure of a factory named “Uniform Textile” located in the Kochukhet Tamanna Complex.

Eventually the protest spilled out onto the other side of the road, bringing traffic to a complete stop.

The protest interrupted the journeys of many of the city commuters and resulted in heavy traffic congestion amid the morning rush.

Assistant Commissioner Tania said, "Traffic began to move on both sides of the road after we convinced the workers to clear the way. The situation has now returned to normal."