Readymade garment workers on Thursday blocked Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in the Jaina Bazar area under Sripur upazila in the district demanding their salaries for the month of March and festival allowances for Eid-ul-fitr celebrated across the country on March 31.
Over 300 hundred workers of HDF garment factory blocked the road for two and a half hours since 10:30am halting the vehicular movement and the blockade created immense traffic congestion on both sides of the highway, said witnesses and police.
They said that the members of the Bangladesh Army and Industrial police persuaded the protesting workers into leaving the road and vehicular movement returned to normalcy.
The workers alleged that the factory authorities in a notice on April 10 announced closing the factory and clearing the dues on April 17.
They said that the factory authorities on Thursday also put up a notice extending the closure till April 22.
HDF factory authorities could not be reached for comment over the phone despite several attempts.
Sripur Mawna highway police officer-in-charge Ayub Ali said that the blockade of 300 workers of HDF factory created severe traffic congestion in the area on both sides of the highway.
鈥楾he Army and the industrial police reached the spot after hearing the news and persuaded workers to clear the road,鈥� the OC said, adding that the vehicular movement returned to normalcy after two and a half hours.
