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Mohali: Unemployed teachers, cops injured in clash during march to Punjab CM’s house
The police had resorted to lathicharge, water cannons and tear gas to stop protesting teachers from entering Chandigarh
As many as 10 unemployed teachers and four cops were injured as police used lathicharge, water cannons and tear gas to stop protesting teachers from entering Chandigarh near YPS Chowk in Mohali on Tuesday.
The teachers, who have been protesting outside the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) office in Phase 8 for the past three weeks, on Tuesday led a march towards Punjab chief minister’s residence in Chandigarh when they were stopped by police barricading.
The protesters tried to scale the barricades, prompting police to use water cannons and mild lathicharge.
Some teachers fainted as they could not face the water pressure, while some female protesters managed to climb the water cannon and stopped the water flow, allowing protesters to move forward.
Chandigarh SSP Kuldeep Singh Chahal reached the spot and appealed to them to stop the march.
A delegation of teachers was then taken to Chandigarh for a dialogue with the Punjab government officials.
The injured teachers were rushed to the civil hospital in Phase 6, where they were discharged after treatment.
Meanwhile, other protesters continued to demonstrate on the roadside. They refused to budge until the government issued them confirmation letters.
Mohali deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan said a meeting of the teachers was scheduled with the Punjab education minister on Tuesday, but it was postponed due to some unavoidable reasons. Following this, the teachers started their protest march. He said the meeting will take place on Wednesday.
Chandigarh Police teams remained present at the site till evening. No case was registered against the protesters.
