Mohali: Assured meeting with edu minister, PTIs end protest after 19 days

Physical training instructors (PTI) demanding government jobs lifted their protest after 19 days on Monday after being assured of meeting with the Punjab education minister on October 27

Physical training instructors (PTI) demanding government jobs lifted their protest after 19 days on Monday after being assured of meeting with the Punjab education minister on October 27.

The PTIs had earlier blocked traffic on Airport Road near Sohana for around three hours for the second consecutive Sunday. (HT File)

The PTIs have been protesting since October 5, when two female PTIs had climbed a water tank near Singh Shaheedan Gurdwara in Sohana.

In the absence of stairs, the teachers, Sippy Sharma and Veerpal Kaur, had scaled the water tank, risking their lives. Veerpal was hospitalised last week after falling sick, following which another female protester, Sukhraj Kaur, scaled the water tank the next evening, even though police were present on the spot.

Deputy superintendent of police (City-2) Harsimran Singh Bal along with Mohali SDM Sarbjit Kaur convinced both the women to step down on Monday, assuring them a fruitful meeting with the education minister on October 27. The protesters were brought down using a hydraulic crane.

“We ended our protest as we have been assured of jobs soon. We have a meeting scheduled with the education minister and that will decide our next action,” said Rajpal, a PTI.

The PTIs had earlier blocked traffic on Airport Road near Sohana for around three hours for the second consecutive Sunday.

The protesters, accompanied by farmers’ unions, laid siege to the road from 11.30 am to 2.30 pm, bringing vehicles to a halt amid Diwali rush. After the PTIs and farmers refused to budge, police detained around 30 protesters.

Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had called Sippy their sister and convinced her to step down from the same water tank last year with an assurance of providing all 646 PTI aspirants government jobs.

Sippy again scaled the water tank after the state government failed to fulfil its poll promise.