Chandigarh, May 3: High drama was witnessed at the ISBT, Sector 43, after members of the Punjab and UT Employees and Pensioners Joint Action Committee, along with members of the Punjab Subordinate Service Federation, staged a protest at the gates and did not allow buses to leave the bus stand for almost two and a half hours, leaving commuters at the receiving end. Massive traffic jams were witnessed outside the bus stand after buses were parked on the road.
Sources said the employee unions, along with 88-year-old Sajjan Singh, were sitting in protest at the ISBT over their demands for the past three days.Sajjan’s condition, who was on a fast unto death, deteriorated today following which a team of doctors from Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, was called for a check-up to the bus stand.
The sources said the doctors declared Sajjan’s state to be critical and decided to get him hospitalised. The police said as Sajjan was being shifted to an ambulance, the protesters got agitated and blocked the way so that the ambulance could not leave the bus stand.Police officials said around 200 protesters, including CTU employees, obstructed them from performing their duty. The police somehow managed to take Sajjan to the hospital.
The protesting workers parked their vehicles at the entrance to the ISBT, spelling chaos on roads and causing inconvenience to the public.
Despite negotiations, when the protesters did not call off their protest, the police detained 38 protesters and took them to the Sector 36 police station.
Police officials said a case under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from the discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing a public servant in the discharge of public functions), 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation), 147 (punishment for rioting) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of a common object) of the IPC has been registered against 18 protesters. No arrests were made by the police.
Passengers left stranded
Passengers who were supposed to catch buses for different parts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, were left stranded in the scorching heat due to the protest, which continued for over two hours.
Demands which triggered the protest
- Regularisation of contractual employees and scrapping outsourcing policy by taking these employees under the state government
- Implementation of the old pension scheme
- Release of three pending dearness allowance instalments
- Enhancing salary of ASHA workers on Haryana pattern
