Over 70 factories in Ashulia shut down amid workers’ protests

Staff Correspondent: Around 60 to 70 garment factories in Ashulia were forced to close on Tuesday due to ongoing worker protests, despite joint efforts by the army and police to maintain security in the area.
While road conditions in the industrial zone remained normal as of 6 pm, with no reported blockades, heavy police, army, and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) presence continued patrolling the area, said Industrial Police-1 Superintendent MdSarwarAlam.
Earlier in the day, after the joint operation for the security of the garment industry was announced, the situation in Ashulia appeared calm. However, protests by garment workers erupted by noon, leading factory authorities to declare holidays at about 60 to 70 factories.
Speaking to the media, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Senior Vice President Abdullah HilRakib said, “After lunch, a group of factory workers, along with outsiders, blocked roads and threw bricks at various factories, forcing many to shut down for the day.” Rakib noted that workers from around 10 to 12 factories were involved in the unrest in Ashulia.
Following these incidents, the BGMEA board met with the Director General of the National Security Intelligence (NSI), seeking assistance to identify those responsible for inciting the protests. The NSI chief indicated that identifying the instigators may take another day, as recent political changes have brought new actors to the forefront while others have gone underground.
In the meantime, larger factories, such as those of Hameem Group and Sharmin Group, continued operations without disruption. Workers from the Nassa Group and Al Muslim Group attempted to block roads, but joint forces, led by the army, successfully dispersed them.
Rakib mentioned that the army-led joint forces were heading to Bishmail to address another gathering of workers. A BGMEA delegation was also dispatched to the area to help resolve the situation.
While factories along the Baipail-Abdullahpur Road from Baipail to Jirabo declared holidays, other operations, including those in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone, continued normally. Industrial Police reported that out of 1,863 factories in the region, only 60 to 70 were affected.
In Gazipur, traffic on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway was disrupted for an hour when retrenched garment workers blocked the road, demanding reinstatement of their jobs. Several hundred workers from factories in Bhogra Bypass, Choydana, and Maleker Bari staged demonstrations, halting traffic in the morning. Assistant Superintendent of Police for Tongi Zone, Mosharraf Hossain, reported that the situation was later brought under control.