Bathinda: A day after Punjab Police used force to disperse protesting teachers and farmers in Bathinda’s Chaoke village, demonstrations were staged outside the residences of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and his ministers in response to the action.
The protests were organised by farm organisation BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) and were supported by other farm groups too. The demonstrations were also held near the residences of Punjab assembly speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, and others.
Bathinda police had on Saturday used force to disperse teachers and farmers who had been protesting for over 70 days outside Adarsh Senior Secondary School in Chaoke. The protesters alleged that they were not even allowed to collect their belongings.
When they gathered outside Rampura Sadar police station, police resorted to a mild lathi charge, taking some into custody. Among those detained were BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) woman activists Harinder Kaur Bindu, Paramjit Kaur Pitho, and a couple of elderly women. The teachers were protesting for the reinstatement of two teachers whose services were terminated and for wages as per rules. They were also calling for the provision of books and uniforms to students. The school operates under a public-private partnership.
The women protesters were taken to Nandgarh police station and later brought to Canal Colony police station for medical examination at Bathinda civil hospital on Sunday before being released in the evening, according to protesters and BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) Bathinda district president Shingara Singh Mann.
Teachers stated that a committee was formed by Bathinda deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parrey to investigate the issue, which reported malpractices. The report was submitted to the DC and higher authorities, but no action was taken.
They claimed that the management was mistreating teachers, as their wages were decreased and some teachers were terminated for raising their voices against malpractices. Bathinda SP Narinder Singh denied resorting to a lathi charge and said protesters were kept aside as they were turning violent.
Meanwhile, a number of villagers opposed the protesters, stating that the prolonged protests were causing difficulties in their children’s studies.
