Three aspiring teachers, including two women, from Punjab sneaked into a private residence in Sector 3, a high-security zone, on Thursday morning by cutting the barbed wire put as fence from the rear side and climbed a 120-foot high mobile tower erected on its premises.
The three — Jatinder Kaur (23) and Harpreet Kaur (32) from Bathinda and Taran Aulakh (27) from Mansa district, who have done elementary teacher training (ETT) besides having cleared the state-level teacher eligibility test (TET) — are protesting against the Punjab government, seeking job assurance.
This comes barely a fortnight after two unemployed youths, also from Punjab, had climbed atop a mobile tower near the residence of the Punjab chief minister’s residence in the same sector protesting over the same issue.
The two are on the tower since November 3, braving the night chill, surviving on dry fruits and attending to nature’s call from atop. They are demanding an audience with Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal.
The Sector-3 house (4.5 kanals) the three sneaked into on Thursday belongs to Harbans Kaur Sangha (80), a widow, whose children live abroad. The three are members of Unemployed Teachers’ Union of Punjab. Jatinder and Harpreet claim to be postgraduates.
The house is metres away from the residence of Congress leader and ex-Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal. Claiming to be carrying petrol in a bottle, the three are demanding a meeting with the Punjab education department officials.
{{/usCountry}}The house is metres away from the residence of Congress leader and ex-Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal. Claiming to be carrying petrol in a bottle, the three are demanding a meeting with the Punjab education department officials.
{{/usCountry}}Harbans Kaur said, “My domestic helps told me at 10am that someone had climbed up the tower in our house. They heard the sounds of the barbed wires being cut at 6.45am, but could not make out what exactly it was.”
Kaur, a cancer patient, said, “I don’t think such gimmicks would help get them jobs. They should have instead gone to some politician’s house for protest.”
Talking to HT over phone, Jatinder Kaur said, “We will not come down till the Punjab government, including the CM himself, holds a panel meeting with education department officials. We have been struggling to get jobs but the government is looking the other way.” Area station house officer (SHO) Poonam Dilawari said, “They will be booked for house trespass.”