Garment Workers Clash with Police Repeatedly in Fatullah; Tear Gas and Sound Grenades Fired

PNN News Desk | Narayanganj

Garment workers from several factories in Fatullah, Narayanganj, have taken to the streets for the third consecutive day, demanding that the minimum monthly wage be fixed at Tk 30,000.

The demonstrations led to repeated clashes and chases between workers and members of the police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in the Kathalpur area of Fatullah from Wednesday morning. Police fired tear gas shells, rubber bullets and sound grenades to bring the situation under control. Four people were detained by law enforcement agencies on suspicion of involvement in the incidents.

According to local sources, at around 10:00 am on Wednesday, workers from several garment factories in the Kathalpur area gathered together and attempted to march towards the Dhaka-Narayanganj connecting road.

Tensions escalated when police and BGB personnel blocked their way. At one stage, agitated workers began throwing bricks and stones at police members. In response, police fired tear gas shells, rubber bullets and sound grenades in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

Intermittent clashes continued in the area from around 10:00 am until approximately 11:45 am.

A local businessman who witnessed the incident said that shortly after the workers gathered in the morning, an argument broke out between them and some local political activists. Police later arrived at the scene and attempted to bring the situation under control.

Meanwhile, a worker from Metro Knitting Factory who participated in the protest alleged that the workers had been demonstrating peacefully to press for their legitimate demands.

"We were peacefully expressing our legitimate demands. However, some people came and attacked us. Later, the police also attacked us and fired tear gas shells and sound grenades," the worker alleged.

The police, however, presented a different account of the incident.

According to law enforcement officials, despite repeated requests over the past two days, workers had continued blocking roads after being influenced by certain vested interest groups. Their actions had caused severe public inconvenience, police claimed.

Additional Superintendent of Police Tarek Al Mehedi, who was present at the scene, said additional police personnel, BGB members and ASRB personnel had been deployed in the area since morning to prevent disorder.

He said authorities had attempted to persuade the workers to leave the streets peacefully.

The Additional Superintendent of Police further said that the government had already formed a new wage board and requested the workers to wait for its final decision and suspend their demonstrations.

However, he alleged that the workers ignored the request and attempted to occupy the Dhaka-Narayanganj connecting road.

"To protect public interests and maintain normal traffic movement, the police were compelled to use tear gas shells and sound grenades," he said.

The police official confirmed that four people had been detained in connection with the clashes.

However, he said no garment factory in the area had been declared closed so far.

According to police, the situation in Fatullah is currently under control, while vehicular movement along the Dhaka-Narayanganj connecting road has returned to normal.

It is worth mentioning that garment workers in Fatullah also blocked roads and staged demonstrations on Monday and Tuesday over the same demands. Their protests disrupted traffic on the Dhaka-Narayanganj route for extended periods.