UNB, Savar-- Locked-out garment workers damaged a bus in a fresh protest on Tuesday at Nishchintapur in Ashulia as their workplaces remained closed following three days of orgies, although huge contingents of cops largely stalled outbreaks of violence.
Witnesses and official sources said some 2,000 additional forces comprising police, Rabid Action Battalion and Ansar were deployed in the violence-ravaged Ashulia and 1,000 others in Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) areas to fend off possible flare-ups in the main export sector.
In the latest incident, over 1,000 workers of 'Jhamjham Sweater Factory' at Nishchintapur took position in front of the closed factory at 9am on Tuesday and, at one stage, turned violent finding their workplace shut, witnesses said.
Later, they intercepted the bus in front of the factory and partially damaged it by stoning.
On information, the law-enforcers rushed in and dispersed the unruly workers.
The garment workers had spearheaded protest against the termination of their jobs and for increase of their salaries in last three days since Saturday, triggering sporadic clashes with the law-enforcers. Two workers - Al Amin and Akhter Hossain-were killed in firing and over 500 others injured during the three days of raging violence.
The workers' unrest forced the authorities to close down most of their factories, pushing the important sector into trouble. Some 150 garment factories out of total 300 located in Ashulia area wherein some 3 lakh people worked still remained closed.
During the three days' protests, the unruly workers damaged at least 100 vehicles and ransacked or set fire to over 100 apparel factories, causing a huge hemorrhage to the country's economy. Police already filed a case against hundreds of anonymous workers with Ashulia police station on charge of vandalism and arson attack. After deployment of the law-enforcers, normalcy returned to other parts of the Ashulia industrial belt.
bdnews24.com, adds: Finance minister A M A Muhith told parliament on Tuesday that the government would check violence in the readymade garment sector.
Muhith's comments came after independent MP Fazlul Azim urged the government to increase the home ministry's budgetary allocation to contain violence.
Azim referred to the burning of factories by demonstrators in Ashulia on Monday and said terrorists were involved in the three-day violence that killed two people.
"Over the years, readymade garment sector has been plagued by violence," Muhith said.
"Usually we see terrorists come out of hibernation to get the shelter of the ruling party. But we are aware of it.
"We will contain violence in the sector," said Muhith who sought funds for the home ministry for 2009-10 fiscal year in absence of the minister Sahara Khatun, who is ill.
Angry apparel workers set ablaze a 10-storey building of Hamim Group on Monday in protest at the death of two of their co-workers in firing over the past two days at Ashulia in Savar.
The ground and first floors that housed the sweater factory in the 10-storey building were burnt to ashes.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
