Police use batons, sound grenades as govt employees rally outside CA’s residence demanding 9th pay scale
The demonstrators demand the publication and implementation of the ninth pay scale in line with the recommendations of the Ninth National Pay Commission.
Government employees staged a sit-in today (6 February) outside the chief adviser's residence, the state guest house Jamuna, demanding the publication and implementation of the ninth pay scale in line with the recommendations of the Ninth National Pay Commission, before police dispersed the protesters with batons, water cannons and sound grenades.
The demonstration took place at around 11:45am on Minto Road in the capital, with several protesters reportedly injured in the police action.
Earlier in the morning, government employees held a rally at the Central Shaheed Minar to press home their single demand for the gazette notification and implementation of the ninth pay scale.
At around 10:45am, they began marching towards Jamuna.
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As they advanced, police initially stopped the protesters with barricades in front of the National Museum at Shahbagh.
The protesters broke through the barricade and continued towards Shahbagh, after which the police used water cannons.
The marchers then moved towards the InterContinental Dhaka, where they again faced police barricades.
At about 11:30am, the protesters broke through the barricade in front of the hotel and proceeded towards Jamuna, where they staged their sit-in.
Some 15 minutes later, police used water cannons and sound grenades and carried out baton charges to disperse the crowd.
At one point, law enforcement cleared the protesters from in front of Jamuna, pushing one group towards the InterContinental Dhaka and another towards the Kakrail Mosque area.
Yesterday, under the banner of the "Bangladesh Government Employees' Demand Realisation Unity Council," government employees formed a human chain and blocked roads at the Agargaon intersection in the capital, demanding the implementation of what they called a discrimination-free ninth pay scale.
