Protests in Gazipur call for the reopening of 16 Beximco factories: More than 50 automobiles were vandalized, with three set on fire. Workers in Gazipur have resumed protests, seeking the reopening of 16 closed enterprises at Beximco Industrial Park. On Wednesday afternoon (January 22), the workers became irate and blocked the Chandra-Nabinagar route, vandalizing approximately 50 vehicles. At one point, they set fire to a truck carrying goods and three buses. Four journalists were hurt when workers attacked them while gathering information on the incident.
Protests in Gazipur call: The workers’ roadblock created considerable traffic congestion on both sides of the road, making it difficult for cars and passengers. Later, police officers used rubber bullets and tear gas to quell the situation. By 7:45 PM, traffic on the route had returned to normal.
During the event, a group of furious workers set fire to the ground floor of a five-story building belonging to a plant called “Grameen Fabrics” in Tetui Bari, the city. At the time of reporting, at 10 p.m., five Fire Service units were attempting to suppress the fire. Pranab Chowdhury, Senior Station Officer at the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) Fire Service, acknowledged the occurrence.
Speaking with industrial police and workers, it was found that the workers and staff of the closed 16 factories conducted a public rally yesterday, Tuesday, requesting that they be reopened. The gathering, held at the Sun City field in Sreepur, demanded that the company’s closed factories be reopened in order to provide a living for its 42,000 employees. Workers rallied again this afternoon at the Sun City field to keep the momentum going. During the event, a group of workers marched to the Chakrabarti neighborhood and stopped the Chandra-Nabinagar road, setting fire to logs as a protest. At the moment, the furious workers vandalized more than 50 vehicles on the route. Eventually, they set fire to a truck loaded with goods and three buses.
When reporters went to cover the workers’ roadblock, Jahangir Alam, the Gazipur correspondent for Deepto TV, Shah Jalal, an ATN News cameraman, Amir Hossain Riel, a Bangla Vision cameraman, and Abu Sayeed, the Kaliakoir correspondent for the daily Protidiner Bangladesh, were badly beaten. The workers also damaged a motorcycle used by the journalists.
Law enforcement officers arrived on the site and attempted to encourage the workers to remove the road amicably. However, the workers became upset and began throwing stones and bricks at law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas rounds to contain the situation. Traffic on the Chandra-Nabinagar road was restored to normal around 7:45 PM.
At around 10 p.m., Md. Abu Taleb, Assistant Police Superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Zone, claimed, “We have got the situation under control. The traffic is now normal. The workers have vandalized and set fire to many automobiles. A huge number of law enforcement officers have been sent to the scene.
It is worth noting that on December 15, following a meeting of the Advisory Council to examine the labor and business status of Beximco’s industrial establishments at the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the decision was made to close 16 enterprises in the Beximco Industrial Park. These establishments are owned by Salman F. Rahman, a former aide to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
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