Mirpur-10 Blockade Over Salary Hike Demand, Severe Traffic Jam

Workers from various garment factories staged a demonstration blocking the road at the Mirpur-10 roundabout in the capital, demanding increased salaries and allowances. The protest began around 9:30 am on October 29.

The blockade caused severe traffic congestion in the area. With the main road closed during the busy morning hours, office-goers and commuters suffered immensely. Traffic on surrounding roads was also disrupted, it is learned.

Police Statement

Pallabi Traffic Zone's Assistant Commissioner (AC) Shazia Afroz confirmed the incident. She said the workers gathered at the roundabout area and blocked the road demanding higher wages and allowances.

Dissatisfaction among garment sector workers over wages and allowances is not new. Although the cost of living has risen, wages have not increased at the same rate, and resentment has been building among workers for a long time. News of such protests in various areas surfaces from time to time. Worker leaders say it has become difficult for them to run their households at current market prices.

However, no formal statement or specific list of demands from the workers' side in this particular protest has been reported. There was also no confirmed information about how long the protest would continue or how it would end.

Members of the law enforcement agencies were present at the scene trying to keep the situation under control, it is learned. Whether arrangements were made to divert vehicles through alternative routes to normalize traffic was not known in detail.

Source: Bangladesh 247