Workers at HDF Apparels Ltd. ended their protest blocking the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur’s Sreepur upazila after approximately two and a half hours early Thursday morning. The demonstration took place in the Jainabazar area and was organised to demand overdue wages and festival bonuses.
According to reports from local sources, the garment workers began their protest around 9:30 am, bringing traffic to a standstill in both directions. Despite heavy rainfall, the workers remained on the roadway until around midday. A joint security force comprising military patrol teams, police personnel, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and industrial police converged to negotiate with the protesters and encourage them to disperse.
Traffic was restored shortly after noon. The protesters claimed that they had not received their salaries for February and March, and that their Eid bonuses and other festival allowances had not been paid on time.
Sreepur Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Md Zainal Abedin Mandal explained, “Once the blockade started, police, RAB, industrial police, and highway police attempted to negotiate with the workers. When they refused to move, a military patrol team arrived and engaged with them. Subsequently, the workers dismantled the blockade, and the situation is now under control.”
