Road blocked for four hours

Vehicular movement on Begum Rokeya Sarani road in the capital's Shewrapara was disrupted for four hours yesterday as agitating garment workers put up blockades on the road protesting the death of a fellow worker in a road accident.
Marufa Akter, 20, a worker of unit-2 garment factory of Outfit Fashion Ltd, was run over by a bus of Shikor Paribahan while crossing the road on Tuesday noon.
She was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where she succumbed to her wounds yesterday morning.
As the news of her death spread at four garment factories of Outfit Fashion Ltd at about 2:00pm, several hundred workers of the factories took to the streets demanding compensation from the transport company.
They put up blockades on Begum Rokeya Sarani road near Shewrapara footbridge at about 3:00pm.
The workers withdrew the blockade at about 7:00pm after the transport company gave assurance of providing the victim's family with compensation.
Victim's brother-in-law Abdus Sattar told The Daily Star that they would take Marufa's body to her village home at Tarail in Kishoreganj.
Khurshid Alam, manager (accounts) of Outfit Fashion Ltd, said they would pay Marufa's guardians all the arrears they owe to her.
Lutful Kabir, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Mirpur zone), told The Daily Star that representatives from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and transport company Shikor Paribahan talked to the workers and calmed them down.
He said the workers withdrew the blockade after the garment owners and the transport company promised to give compensation to the victim's family.
The workers did not resort to violence during the blockade, added the deputy commissioner.
A correspondent from Gazipur reports, around 500 workers of Navid Wool Wear in Sripur staged a sit-in on Maona-Gafargaon road demanding payment of overtime bills.