The workers began demonstrating on the highway in Azampur around 11am today, after workers from several garment factories started gathering in the area in the morning.
TBS Report
14 October, 2026, 01:25 pm
Last modified: 14 October, 2026, 01:40 pm
Garment workers from several factories blocked the road in Azampur, Uttara, in the capital today (14 October), demanding higher wages, disrupting traffic on one side of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and causing severe congestion on nearby roads.
The disruption has left commuters, passengers and pedestrians facing significant difficulties.
Al Amin Sarkar, additional deputy commissioner of Uttara Division, told The Business Standard around 1:15pm that police had held talks with the workers and reopened part of the road.
Many workers have since taken up positions near the Airport Roundabout, he said, adding that police were working to resolve the situation.
The workers began demonstrating on the highway in Azampur around 11am today, after workers from several garment factories started gathering in the area in the morning. Traffic was disrupted when they took to the road.
The workers said they were protesting to demand higher wages. As employees from different factories joined the demonstration, long queues of vehicles formed on the highway, with congestion spreading to surrounding roads.
Many passengers were stranded on public transport. Some got off buses and continued on foot after being unable to reach their destinations on time, causing difficulties for commuters and people travelling for urgent reasons.
The protesting workers cleared the road around 1:30pm.
Earlier, on Monday (12 October), garment workers blocked the road in Azampur, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. Hundreds of workers from garment factories in Dakshinkhan took part in the protest, disrupting traffic on one side of the highway.
At the time, KHM Ershad, additional deputy commissioner of Uttara Division, told the media that police brought the situation under control through talks with the workers. The demonstrators cleared the road and returned to work after about an hour.