Several hundred garment workers barricaded the main thoroughfare in Chittagong for several hours yesterday after police obstructed their rally called to protest frequent rise in house rents.
Due to the blockade, traffic remained stranded on the Airport Road since 3:30pm until police high officials around 9:15pm assured the agitators of steps to meet their demands.
Earlier, workers of different factories at Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) and adjoining areas gathered on Labour Colony ground near the CEPZ main gate around 2:30pm to join the pre-announced rally to press home their seven-point demand that includes an end to arbitrary increase of house rents, a sub-inspector of Bandar Police Station told The Daily Star.
Law enforcers rushed in around 3:00pm and barred the workers from holding the meeting, workers alleged. Police closed the gate of the ground so that no worker could enter.
Angered, the workers took to the streets and put barricades at different points including Saltgola Crossing, Mailer Matha and Navy College Gate on the Airport Road.
They started their rally at CEPZ Intersection.
Participants at the meeting demanded the house owners issue receipts on payment of rents, maintain government rules while increasing the rents, ensure supply of gas, water and electricity and stop evicting tenants.
A huge number of police had taken position at the CEPZ main gate.
Rezaul Karim, senior assistant director of Chittagong unit Industrial Police, told The Daily Star around 7:00pm that they did not go for a tough action as the demonstration was still peaceful.
Around 7:30pm, a section of workers started throwing stones at the nearby shopping malls and ATM Booths, said witnesses.
They burned tyres, smashed windowpanes of five shopping malls and shutters of several shops near the intersection and vandalised at least 12 vehicles including three-wheelers, buses and trucks.
A large number of vehicles, many of which headed for Chittagong airport, were caught in half-a-kilometre tailback.
Rezaul Karim said the workers had no permission for a meeting on the Labour Colony ground. The rally was not called under any banner or by any organisation.
“We also had information that some vested quarters could cash in on the workers’ grievances ahead of December 11,” he added.
On December 11 last year, workers of different factories of CEPZ demonstrated against the newly announced wage board. The following day, the export processing zone erupted into violence.
Rezaul Karim told the reporters that they would arrange talks among house owners, local representatives and workers.
Talking to The Daily Star, Jesmin, a worker of Pacific Jeans, said she shares a room with two others and have to live in severe water, gas and power crisis.
Md Shamim, an employee of Bangladesh Spinners and Knitters Private Ltd, said his house rent was increased from Tk 1,500 to Tk 2,500 in several phases over the last one year.
A resident of the Labour Colony, Shamim said he and his wife live in only one room of a two-room tin-shed house. The owner has recently told him that he has to pay extra Tk 500 from January.
“I cannot afford the house rent as I receive only Tk 4,086 every month as salary,” said the Shamim who works as an operator at the Knitting section of the factory.
-With The Daily Star input
