Traffic movement on Dhaka-Sylhet Highway was suspended for nearly four hours today as garment workers put up barricade on the road demanding their salaries in arrear and bonuses ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. Police charged batons on the demonstration, leaving 50 workers injured, witnesses said.

Sources said more than 5,000 workers of Chowdhury Knit and Garments took to the street at about 2pm when they came to know the garment authority declared the factory lay off for next two months without paying their arrears. They put up barricade on the road near Kararchar in Shibpur upazila disrupting communication for about four hours. On information, police force from Shibpur thana rushed in but failed to tackle the situation. Later, additional security people including Detective Branch (DB) and armed police team from Sadar thana were called in.

The police force then charged baton on the demonstration, leaving at least 50 workers injured. Police took the situation under control at about 5.45 pm and picked up the manager of the factory, Afsar Uddin Dewan, to the thana. The RMG workers claimed the garment owner earlier promised to pay all arrears within Sept

-The Independent