Teachers, other unions block highway

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 18

Intensifying their stir, members of Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha from nine districts of the Malwa region, along with members of half a dozen other unions, (mostly farmers’ unions) laid a siege to the Bathinda-Mansa highway on Sunday.

Scores of protesters carried out march from the Mini-secretariat complex up to the overbridge near ITI Chowk and blocked the highway for hours, thereby disrupting the flow traffic movement.

A heavy police force and ARP (anti-riot police) was deployed at the venue to control the protesters.

Members of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, BKU (Ugrahan), BKU (Dakaunda), Khet Mazdoor Union, Punjab Students Union and Jamhuri Adhikar Sabha also extended their support to the teaching fraternity by participating in the protest.

As the overbridge was blocked completely by the protesters on the Bathinda-Mansa highway, the traffic police installed barricades at the starting point of the flyover and diverted the traffic from beneath the overbridge.

Meanwhile, a group of protesters removed barricades installed near the overbridge, when confronted by the police.

The police personnel then cane-charged the protesters, who were trying to barge into the main blockade arena.

Resham Singh, president of the Democratic Teachers’ Front and convener of the Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha, said, “We will continue our stir until government relents and fulfils our demands. We vehemently oppose the government’s decision to regularise the jobs of SSA/RMSA teachers by imposing 75 per cent pay cuts. The transfer policy adopted by the Education Department is irrational and implemented only to suppress our dissent. Those recruited under the 5178 master cadre and computer teachers must be regularised and given all benefits of government employees.”

“To end the stir, the district administration promised us that they would make us talk to the PA of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. But we declined and decided to continue our protest,” Singh added. The protest was on till the filing of the report.

Meanwhile, commuters had a harrowing time as barricades were installed at a number of places on the Bathinda-Mansa road to divert the traffic. A large number of vehicles were seen parked on roads covering it partly.