11:26 am, Friday, 7 February 2025

Beximco workers’ protest turns violent: factory, vehicles torched

  • Bizbd Report
  • Update Time : 01:39:10 am, Thursday, 23 January 2025
  • 89

Hundreds of workers staged protests in Gazipur City on Wednesday, demanding the reopening of 16 closed factories in the Beximco Industrial Park.

The demonstrations escalated into violence, with vehicles torched, a factory partially burned, and journalists injured.

Traffic on the Chandra-Nabinagar road was paralysed as protesters blocked the highway, vandalising over 50 vehicles and causing significant disruption.

Law enforcement intervened with rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd, restoring normal traffic later in the evening.

The unrest traces back to the closure of the factories in December 2024, which left nearly 40,000 workers jobless.

Layoff notices were issued on December 15, effective the following day.

Since then, workers have consistently demanded the reopening of the factories and the payment of outstanding wages.

On Tuesday, workers and employees of the 16 shuttered factories held a mass rally at the Sun City field in Sreepur, urging the resumption of operations to protect the livelihoods of 42,000 affected individuals.

Continuing their campaign, workers gathered again at the Sun City field on Wednesday afternoon.

During the rally, a section of workers moved to the Chakrabarti area and intensified their protest by blocking the Chandra-Nabinagar highway with burning tree trunks.

The demonstration turned violent as protesters vandalised vehicles on the road, and at one point, a goods-laden truck and three buses were set on fire.

In a related incident, a group of workers set fire to the ground floor of a five-story building belonging to Grameen Fabrics in the Tentuibari area around 8:00pm, according to Gazipur Industrial Police Inspector AK Azad.

Five fire service units worked to control the blaze until approximately 9:00 PM, as reported by Sarabo Fire Service Duty Officer Moniruzzaman.

Beximco workers’ protest turns violent: factory, vehicles torched

Update Time : 01:39:10 am, Thursday, 23 January 2025

Hundreds of workers staged protests in Gazipur City on Wednesday, demanding the reopening of 16 closed factories in the Beximco Industrial Park.

The demonstrations escalated into violence, with vehicles torched, a factory partially burned, and journalists injured.

Traffic on the Chandra-Nabinagar road was paralysed as protesters blocked the highway, vandalising over 50 vehicles and causing significant disruption.

Law enforcement intervened with rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd, restoring normal traffic later in the evening.

The unrest traces back to the closure of the factories in December 2024, which left nearly 40,000 workers jobless.

Layoff notices were issued on December 15, effective the following day.

Since then, workers have consistently demanded the reopening of the factories and the payment of outstanding wages.

On Tuesday, workers and employees of the 16 shuttered factories held a mass rally at the Sun City field in Sreepur, urging the resumption of operations to protect the livelihoods of 42,000 affected individuals.

Continuing their campaign, workers gathered again at the Sun City field on Wednesday afternoon.

During the rally, a section of workers moved to the Chakrabarti area and intensified their protest by blocking the Chandra-Nabinagar highway with burning tree trunks.

The demonstration turned violent as protesters vandalised vehicles on the road, and at one point, a goods-laden truck and three buses were set on fire.

In a related incident, a group of workers set fire to the ground floor of a five-story building belonging to Grameen Fabrics in the Tentuibari area around 8:00pm, according to Gazipur Industrial Police Inspector AK Azad.

Five fire service units worked to control the blaze until approximately 9:00 PM, as reported by Sarabo Fire Service Duty Officer Moniruzzaman.