Bangladesh crisis: Sound grenades & tear gas used on protesters near Yunus residence

Massive protests erupted outside Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus’s official residence, Jamuna, on Friday as government employees staged demonstrations demanding the immediate implementation of the ninth national pay scale.

The protests have triggered heavy security deployment and police action in parts of the capital, Dhaka.Tension flared near Jamuna after protesters, marching from the Shaheed Minar, broke through police barricades and attempted to move towards the residence.

Police used water cannons, tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse the crowd, while six platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed to secure the area around Kakrail Mosque and the Hotel InterContinental, as reported by to Dhaka Tribune. According to Shahbagh Police Station officer-in-charge Md Moniruzzaman, government employees began gathering at Shahbagh around 10.30 am and blocked the intersection, bringing traffic on surrounding roads to a standstill. Despite repeated requests to clear the roads, the protesters refused to disperse.“When the procession advanced towards Jamuna and reached the Hotel InterContinental crossing, police attempted to stop it.

As the protesters crossed the barricades and gathered near Jamuna, police used teargas shells and water cannons around 12.00 noon to bring the situation under control,” Moniruzzaman said.The protesters, demonstrating under the banner of the Sarkari Karmachari Dabi Adai Oikya Parishad (Government Employees’ Unity Council for Realisation of Demands), chanted slogans such as “No compromise, only struggle,” “Not offices but the streets” and “Implement the pay scale immediately.”

Some protesters were seen injured and being taken away by police from the InterContinental intersection.By around 11.30 am, protesters defied barricades at Shahbagh and marched towards Jamuna, staging a brief sit-in near the residence. Police later dispersed them using water cannons, tear gas and sound grenades.

Around 12.30 pm, most demonstrators regrouped at the Hotel InterContinental intersection, where further police action was taken.

Traffic on the Banglamotor–Shahbagh road remained disrupted for several hours before resuming after 1.15 pm, according to United news of Bangladesh. Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner SM Sajjat Ali visited the area to monitor the situation, while Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ramna Division) Masud Alam said that the police were working to prevent any deterioration in law and order.“We are remaining alert so that law and order does not deteriorate.

We are talking to the protesters so that they move elsewhere,” Masud Alam said.Several protesters said that they had gathered solely to press for the pay scale revision and had no other intentions. One detained protester said he was the only earning member of his family and could no longer support them on his current salary.Another protester, Borhan Uddin, an office assistant at the Department of Youth Development, said the delay was unjustified.“The government has completed all the procedures for the ninth pay scale but has not issued the gazette notification. This has been our long-standing demand. We have learnt that the gazette is being delayed due to objections from a political party. We will not accept this,” he said.The protesting employees warned that if the gazette for the ninth pay scale is not issued within the day, they will continue their movement and refuse to return home.Meanwhile, an additional sit-in was already underway near Jamuna, with the platform Inqilab Moncho holding protests since Thursday afternoon, demanding a United Nations-led impartial investigation into the killing of Shaheed Sharif Osman bin Hadi.The government employees said that the pay commission has already submitted its report and that the new scale can be implemented immediately through a gazette notification. They also expressed concern that implementation could be delayed further once an elected government takes office.Security remained tight around the Chief Adviser’s residence as police maintained barricades near the Hotel InterContinental and adjoining roads late into the afternoon.