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Published : 26 May 2026, 05:54 PM
Police have fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells to disperse readymade garment workers who blocked the Dhaka–Chattogram Highway for two and a half hours, demanding the payment of their salaries and earned-leave arrears.
The demonstration, which took place on Tuesday afternoon, triggered a gridlock stretching several kilometres on the country’s busiest economic artery before law enforcers intervened to clear the road.
The incident occurred in Triprodi of Sonargaon Upazila, outside Chaity Composite Limited, according to Inspector (Intelligence) Anwarul Huq of Industrial Police-4.
The export-oriented garment factory is owned by Abul Kalam, a BNP secretary for industrial affairs and a lawmaker from the Cumilla-9 constituency.
Workers said discontent had been growing for days as the factory paid only half of the current month’s wages along with Eid bonuses ahead of its holiday closure on Wednesday.
The workers gathered outside the factory on Tuesday morning demanding full salaries and earned leave arrears before blocking the highway in the afternoon.
"The highway remained blocked from 1pm to 3:30pm," said Anwarul.
The police officer added that tear gas and rubber bullets were fired during the operation, though no casualties were reported.
Kanchpur Highway Police chief Shamim Sheikh noted that even after the highway was vacated, it took another half an hour for vehicular movement to return to normal.
Attempts to contact factory owner Kalam on the phone were unsuccessful as it was switched off.
Sonargaon Police chief Golam Sarwar said in the afternoon that traffic flow had completely normalised.
He said the factory authorities have issued a notice stating that the remaining salaries and arrears will be cleared on Jun 3.
