Garment workers blocked roads and clashed with law enforcement in the capital city of Dhaka on Sunday (October 15), demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka. The intense demonstrations, which disrupted traffic across several key intersections, saw protesters engaging in running battles with police and setting a law enforcement vehicle on fire beneath the Mirpur-11 metro rail station.
The unrest erupted around 11:00 AM on Sunday, following an initial blockade initiated by workers from several apparel factories who gathered at the Mirpur-10 intersection at approximately 8:00 AM. As police attempted to clear the thoroughfare, confrontations escalated sharply into pitched street battles that persisted intermittently for over two hours. According to eyewitness accounts, protesters hurled brickbats at law enforcement personnel, prompting police to retaliate with baton charges, water cannons, sound grenades, and tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
Despite initial clearance efforts, demonstrators regrouped and continued to confront security forces from multiple directions. Around 12:30 PM, a police vehicle stationed beneath the Mirpur-11 metro rail station was torched, causing damage to the facility's water pipeline and forcing authorities to keep the eastern gate of the station closed. Security personnel confirmed that the escalating violence necessitated the temporary closure of the Mirpur-10, Mirpur-11, and Pallabi metro rail stations from 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM.
Pallabi Police Station Inspector (Operations) Md. Hanif stated that the protesters finally vacated the roadways around 1:00 PM, after which vehicular movement gradually returned to normalcy. Mirpur Police Station Sub-Inspector (SI) Saiful Islam noted that law enforcement units had been dispatched to the area early in the morning after workers converged on the Mirpur-10 intersection to enforce the blockade.
Sunday's violent clashes follow a similar demonstration staged by garment workers on Saturday, during which protesters similarly blocked major thoroughfares in the Mirpur-10, 11, and 12 areas from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM, bringing traffic to a standstill across the surrounding neighborhoods in pursuit of higher wages.
