Unemployed BEd teachers lathicharged in Punjab

Kapurthala, Jul 27 (UNI) Police today resorted to mild cane charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the agitating unemployed BEd teachers in the local Shalimar Gardens.

As many as 12 persons, including five policemen received minor injuries in the clash between the police and agitating teachers.

According to official sources over a 1000 odd unemployed BEd teachers from all over the state had assembled at Shalimar Gardens to hand over a memorandum to Education Minister Upinderjit Kaur over the delay in the issuance of appointment letters to 14,000 teachers selected by the government. The agitating teachers were insisting on proceeding towards the residence of the Minister but the police did not allow them.

SDM G S Khera and city DSP Sukhdev Singh Chhina tried to reason with the agitating teachers who were bent upon proceeding to the Ministers residence. The teachers agreed to court arrest in case the police did not allow them to proceed towards the residence of the Minister, who incidentally was not in town.

The agitating teachers first boarded two police buses but later alighted and staged a dharna on the road outside the Shalimar Gardens.

When the teachers tried to break the police cordon to move towards the residence of the Minister, police resorted to lathi charge and fired few rounds of tear gas shells to disperse the agitators. The teachers also retaliated and resorted to brick batting resulting in injuries to five policemen including SHO Sarup Singh.

Later when order was restored the teachers handed over the memorandum to the SDM. The teachers were demanding the mitigation of irregularities in the transfer policy and adjustment of teachers at stations nearest to their homes.

Sukhdarshan Singh, President of the Unemployed BEd Teachers Front told mediapersons that the government had adopted delaying tactics by not issuing the appointment letters to 14,000 selected teachers because of the stay orders form the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He alleged that government did file its reply in the High Court and did not argue the case resulting in the stay.

He alleged that government had issued appointment letters to about 150 mathematics teachers but they were not allowed to join their duties.

UNI XC HS RC RK1720