Mohali becomes a hotbed of protests
UT cops have been permanently deployed at the border of Mohali and Chandigarh to deter protesters from entering the union territory. As per record, around 96 protests, organised by various outfits, have been held in Mohali in the last two months.Protests are also being held near the farmhouse of Punjab chief minister (CM), Captain Amarinder Singh, near Siswan in Mullanpur, forcing the authorities to permanently depute police force at the site. Only last week, both Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) held a big protest against power cuts near the CM’s farm house.Mohali senior superintendent of police (SSP) Satinder Singh said, “It is the democratic right of the people to hold protests, but we make sure no untoward incident happens and deploy adequate police force.”Currently ongoing are protests by Punjab’s contractual unemployed teachers, outside Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) building. For the last three weeks, the temporary teachers have been demanding regularisation of their jobs and enhancement in their salaries. There have been several clashes between the protesting teachers and Chandigarh Police, amid use of lathi charge and water cannons.The members of the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) have been holding protests since June 18 against the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission by the Punjab government. The doctors’ protests have affected OPD services and other elective surgeries in government hospitals of the district. The Punjab government has decided to decrease the non-practising allowance of doctors from 25% to 20%, and delinking it to the total salary calculation will actually decrease the salary of already overburdened government doctors.Also protesting the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission are the members of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union, Mohali, who are regularly holding pen-down strikes in the district. The members of the union are employees of the DC office, PWD office, excise and taxation department, health department, water supply and sanitation department, and others. With this protest, the common man is at the receiving end as no work is being done.General secretary of the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association, Dr Manohar Singh, said, “The government must understand the feelings of the people and work towards improving the system, so that people may not be forced to hold protests against the state.”
