Water cannon, sound grenades used to disperse govt employees

Government employees marched towards the Jamuna, the official residence of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, demanding the publication and implementation of the Ninth National Pay Commission gazette.

Police obstructed the march and later dispersed the protesters using water cannons and sound grenades.

The incident occurred at around 11:15am on Friday (6 February) on the road beside Hotel InterContinental, where the protesters broke through a police barricade and took up a position at the entrance to Jamuna.

During the standoff, government employees chanted various slogans. Shortly afterwards, police were seen firing tear gas at the demonstrators.

Earlier in the morning, government employees had gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka to press their demand for the publication and implementation of the Ninth Pay Scale gazette. From there, they proceeded in a march towards Jamuna.

The protesters said the gazette for the Ninth Pay Scale must be issued within the day, otherwise they would not return home.

Ramna Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Nabi said police used water cannons and sound grenades to disperse the government employees. He added that around 10 sound grenades were fired to bring the situation under control.