A factory in the Panishail area of Gazipur City has been shut down indefinitely, leading to protests by garment workers. During this time, clashes broke out between workers from two factories and local residents, resulting in at least five people being injured.
The protests turned violent when angry workers set fire to a factory named Amazon Knitwear near Jirani Bazar.
According to reports from workers, locals, and the police, garment workers from Beximco started blocking roads in the Chakraborty area on Monday morning, continuing the protests that had begun over the last two days. Due to the unrest, holidays were declared in at least 20 nearby factories. Additionally, the Dorina Fashion Limited factory in the Panishail area was also shut down indefinitely by management on November 1. Although the factory had reopened on Sunday, workers were given another day off after noon.
On Monday morning, workers arrived to find a notice announcing the indefinite closure of the factory once again. In response, they began protesting, demanding the factory’s reopening, and later blocked the Chandra-Nabinagar road at the Jirani area.
At the same time, workers from Beximco factory were also protesting and blocking roads at a separate location along the same road. Around 11:30 AM, a heated argument broke out between workers from Dorina Fashion and Beximco. The situation escalated into a chase and clash between the two groups, leaving at least five people injured. The injured were treated at a local clinic.
During the unrest, workers entered the Panishail and Koltasuti areas and reportedly attacked local residents. This prompted local people to retaliate and chase the workers. For some time, there was a three-way confrontation between the workers and locals. In the chaos, some workers from Dorina Fashion and Beximco set fire to the Amazon Knitwear factory located in the Purba Koltasuti area.
Upon receiving news, members of the industrial police, local police, and army arrived at the scene to bring the situation under control.
Abdullah Al Arefin, Deputy Director of Gazipur Fire Service, said, “After receiving the news, two units from the Kashimpur fire service have been sent. The army is at the scene, and they will assist in extinguishing the fire.”
SI Mohammad Hanif from Kashimpur police station stated, “The factory is on fire. Although it has been an hour, the fire service has not arrived yet. Local efforts are underway to control the fire.”