Khanna: After assurance, contractual staff lift blockade

Mahesh Sharma

Khanna, December 18

Residents of the area faced inconvenience till afternoon on Saturday as office-bearers and activists of 11 outfits of contractual employees working with various government departments blocked the Sher Shah Suri Marg (NH-1) at Bhattian village near here.

However, commuters heaved a sigh of relief after the protesters lifted the blockade after they were assured a meeting with Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh on Sunday evening.

The scheduled meeting was fixed on the intervention of Cabinet Minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli, who spoke to the CM and apprised him of demands of the employees protesting for regularisation of their services and facilities on a par with other government employees.

While commuters, including patients and elderly persons, travelling between localities situated on both sides of Khanna city remained worst affected due to the forced diversion on bumpy link roads, local residents were also among the sufferers as a large number of vehicles plied on link roads due to the blockade of the national highway.

Probably, it was for the first time that families of protesting employees squatted on a highway for an overnight action. Volunteers from nearby areas were seen serving tea and snacks to protesters in the wee hours of this morning. Though police and administration officials had been trying to persuade protesters to lift the blockade since its organisation on Friday, all meetings proved futile till this afternoon when Cabinet Minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli held a meeting with state-level leaders of the protesting organisations and succeeded in fixing their meeting with the Chief Minister.

Office-bearers of the Theka Mulazim Sangharsh Committee said the employees had agreed to lift the blockade after receiving an invitation for a meeting with the Chief Minister, scheduled to take place at Punjab Bhawan on Sunday evening.

“Though it is not the first time that we have been invited for a meeting, this time Cabinet Minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli has assured to be present during the meeting,” they said, adding that Kotli had assured them that necessary action would be taken in the Cabinet meeting scheduled to take place on Monday.

However, the protesters threatened to intensify their stir if their demands are not accepted in the Sunday meeting.

Meeting fixed on Kotli’s intervention

A meeting of contractual employees with the Chief Minister on Sunday evening was fixed on the intervention of Cabinet Minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli, who spoke to the CM and apprised him of demands of the employees protesting for regularisation of their services and facilities on a par with other government employees.