Readymade garment (RMG) workers protesting for payment of arrears, wage hikes and other demands have left the road in the Azampur area of the capital’s Uttara, allowing traffic to return to normal.

Md Rezaul Karim, deputy commissioner of the Uttara Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), confirmed the development on Thursday (15 October).

The protesters left the highway at around 12:15pm after police charged them with batons and fired sound grenades. Traffic returned to normal about two hours later.

“The protesters left the road at around noon. Vehicular movement is now normal,” Rezaul Karim said.

Traffic police said the demonstration had earlier caused severe congestion on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, stretching from Tongi Station Road to BNS Center and from Khilkhet to Azampur, causing immense suffering to commuters.

The workers had blocked the road in the Azampur area at around 10:00am on Thursday to press home their demands.

The protesting workers said soaring prices of essential commodities and rising costs of house rent, healthcare and their children’s education had made it increasingly difficult to support their families on their current wages.

They demanded an increase in wages in line with the rising cost of living.