BGB deployed on Dhaka-Tangail highway after worker-police clashes

Garment workers in Kaliakair, Gazipur, have blockaded the Dhaka-Tangail highway for the third consecutive day, demanding a minimum wage of Tk 30,000. With the situation tense, five platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in the area.

Agitated workers took position on the highway at Mouchak in the upazila at around 8:30 am on Sunday (1 November). Soon after, workers from nearby factories, including those in Shafipur and Ratanpur, began gathering near the highway in large groups, disrupting traffic on the road.

The protesting workers have a single demand: the wage structure must be revised and the minimum wage fixed at Tk 30,000. They have also said they will not leave the road until the demand is met.

To keep law and order under control amid the protests, BGB personnel have been deployed in Kaliakair, Shafipur, Konabari and surrounding areas. Amjad Hossain, superintendent of police at Industrial Police-1 in Gazipur, said BGB members began duty in Gazipur from today and have already reached their designated areas.

He added that although five platoons are on the ground for now, the number will be increased if the situation worsens. The BGB members will work in coordination with the Industrial Police to maintain normalcy in the industrial belt.