Police clear Gazipur highway after workers set fires

Garment workers set fire to tyres and waste while attempting to block the Dhaka-Tangail Highway at two points in Gazipur, but police have moved them off the road.

The incidents took place near Mouchak in Kaliakair around 8am and Naojor intersection around 9:30am on Tuesday, Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Md Amjad Hossain said.

Witnesses said workers blocked the highway in front of Diganta Sweater factory at Naojor intersection around 9:30am.

They set fire to discarded vehicle tyres and nearby waste after bringing them onto the highway, halting traffic, including auto-rickshaws and motorcycles, between Joydebpur Chowrasta and Naojor.

Some workers were also seen playing cricket on the highway. Protesters, however, obstructed journalists who approached them to collect information, take photographs and record video.

Police officer Amjad said a group of workers tried to block the highway near Mouchak in Kaliakair shortly before 8am. Law enforcers persuaded them to leave without any confrontation.

There was no road blockade in Gazipur as such, he said, but police persuaded workers off the road when they tried to block it at Naojor in the city.

Law enforcers are on alert at every point along the highway to head off any disorder, he added.