Female family members of striking contractual teachers gathered at Yadgar-e-Shahjahani Park on Monday to press for their demands, especially same work same pay and merger of their services in school education department. Convener of contractual teachers’ union Brijesh Sharma told HT that about 10,000 teachers and their female family members took out a rally to submit memorandum to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Huge posse of police was deployed and roads were barricaded around the park to stop the teachers spilling on the streets of the state capital. During the rally, some scenes of minor scuffles were witnessed between the police and female protestors.

Ultimately, a representative group of 15 agitating female members was taken by government officials to the CM House, where the CM’s representative took the memorandum in the absence of Chouhan.

State president of teachers’ union Murlidhar Patidar said the teachers would now stage indefinite hunger strike at block level. The agitation would intensify in the coming days, said Patidar.