Hundreds of officials of Islami Bank staged a human chain and blockade programme on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway on Saturday, demanding reinstatement of dismissed employees along with five other demands.

The protest began around 11:00am at Faujdarhat in Chattogram, where the bank’s officials formed a human chain beside the highway. Around 11:45am, they moved onto the road and blocked traffic.

The blockade caused several kilometres of traffic congestion on both sides of the busy highway, leaving commuters to suffer long delays.

Protesters alleged that about 400 officials of Islami Bank in Chattogram region had been unfairly dismissed, while another 4,000–5,000 had been made officers on special duty (OSD), rendering them inactive at their workplaces.

The demonstration came a day after dismissed officials announced at a press conference on Friday that they would go on a continuous work stoppage from Sunday. However, they launched their movement earlier on Saturday with the human chain and blockade.

Their six-point demand includes—

• Reinstatement of officials dismissed in violation of service rules.
• Immediate halt to “punishment transfers” for boycotting what they termed mock examinations.
• Ensuring a discrimination-free and politically neutral work environment.
• Stopping all conditional assessment tests.
• Proper investigation into alleged physical and mental harassment of Chattogram officials and action against perpetrators, along with reinstatement of victims.
• Withdrawal of general diaries (GDs) and cybercrime cases filed against officials for boycotting examinations.