Garment workers block roads in Banani for an hour

Workers of Masud Apparels Ltd gathered on the road at the Chairman Bari intersection around 11:45am, halting traffic

Workers of a garment factory have blocked a road in Dhaka’s Banani on Friday, demanding payment of “service benefits”.

Workers of Masud Apparels Ltd gathered on the road at the Chairman Bari intersection in Banani around 11:45am, bringing traffic on the airport-bound section of the road to a halt.

Traffic movement was restored to normal around 12:30pm, said Abu Sayeem Nayan, assistant commissioner of the Gulshan Traffic Zone.

“They were holding a protest while occupying the airport-bound lane. At the request of police, the workers cleared the road, and traffic returned to normal. There is no problem on the road now,” he said.

Gulshan Traffic Division Additional Deputy Commissioner Ziaur Rahman said vehicles began moving again from 12:30pm as the protesters started clearing the road, and the road was fully cleared around 1pm.

The Gulshan Traffic Division had issued a notice about the road blockade in a Facebook post, saying traffic movement had been blocked.

Police had urged travellers to use alternate routes or allow extra time for travel.