Published : 02 Nov 2026, 12:06 PM
Updated : 02 Nov 2026, 01:08 PM
Charges and counter-charges between garment workers and police in Savar’s Ashulia have erupted into a clash, with police firing tear gas shells.
The clashes began after 10am on Monday in Narsinghpur and Nischintapur along the Abdullahpur-Baipail road.
Workers from a Newage Group factory in Narsinghpur first came out onto the streets, followed by employees from several nearby factories.
Police and workers remain face-to-face as tensions persist in the area. Most garment factories along the road have announced a general holiday.
Additional Police Superintendent Shoaib Ahmed of Industrial Police-1 (Operations and Intelligence) said officers were working to bring the situation under control.
Witnesses said protesting workers first gathered outside Ananta Group and later moved to Ha-Meem, where they hurled brickbats.
Tensions flared when workers tried to block the road over various demands, prompting a confrontation with law-enforcing agencies.
Police fired tear gas to disperse the workers after a chase broke out. Additional personnel were deployed to maintain order.
Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Sweater Workers Trade Union Centre, said workers punched their attendance cards after entering factories in the morning.
After 9am, they began leaving the factories one by one and gathering on the road.
He said workers from a Newage Group factory in Narsinghpur were the first to come out, followed by employees of Knit Asia, Ananta, Trouser Line and several other nearby factories.
Around noon, workers gathered outside Al-Muslim Garments in Savar’s Ulait on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway and tried to block the road. A large police contingent arrived and fired tear gas to disperse them.
Witnesses said some people were seen throwing brickbats at police during the protests. They suspected that outsiders had mingled with the workers and were trying to stir up trouble.
