Police clash with garment workers in Dhaka’s Mirpur

Police have clashed with garment workers protesting in Dhaka’s Mirpur-10 area to demand a minimum wage of Tk 30,000.

Police used batons, water cannons, tear gas and sound grenades to disperse the workers.

Clashes between the two sides were still ongoing at noon on Sunday. Although the Mirpur-10 roundabout is under police control, traffic in the area has not returned to normal.

According to the police, the situation became heated after one of the protesters was taken into custody and placed in a police box on suspicion of being a "kidnapper". Then, the protesters started approaching the police box at the roundabout from all sides and clashed with the police.

Abu Naser Rikabder, deputy commissioner of the police’s Mirpur Division, told bdnews24.com around noon, "The clashes are still ongoing. We are dispersing them. Details will be announced later."

Around 9am, workers from several garment factories in Mirpur blocked the road at the Mirpur-10 roundabout.

Traffic came to a halt at the roundabout, creating congestion in the surrounding areas. Traffic police tried to arrange for vehicles to use alternative routes to keep traffic flowing normally.

Pallabi Police Station chief Jalal Uddin said, "Workers have been protesting on the roads since the morning in the Mirpur-10, 11 and 12 and surrounding areas. Additional police personnel have been deployed to handle the overall situation. Police are working to remove the workers from the road."

Mahfuzul Haque Bakshi, assistant commissioner of the Mirpur Zone’s Traffic Division said in the morning: "The garment workers have blocked the road today as well. Currently, traffic is closed on Mirpur-10. We are trying to normalise traffic by diverting it."

Garment workers had blocked roads in different areas of Mirpur on Thursday to push for the same demand. Around 9:30am that day, several hundred workers took to the road at Mirpur-10 roundabout.

Though they cleared the area at a later time, another group pushing for the same demand had blocked the road in front of the Purabi Cinema Hall near the metro rail station No. 11. After blocking the road for about six hours in two phases, the workers called off the demonstration in the afternoon and traffic returned to normal.

The protesters then took to the streets of Mirpur again on Saturday, disrupting traffic in the Mirpur-10, Mirpur-11, Mirpur-12 and Proshika Intersection areas.

Garment workers have been protesting for some time for a minimum wage of Tk 30,000.

Labour Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury Arif announced the formation of a wage board for garment workers on Sunday