Written by: Express News Service
2 min readKhararApr 6, 2011 01:37 AM IST
First published on: Apr 6, 2011 at 01:37 AM IST
The contractual employees of Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC),who were on the path of agitation since March 25 seeking regularisation of their services,blocked the busy National Highway-21 stretch,connecting Chandigarh with major parts of Punjab,Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir via Mohali and Kharar on Tuesday.
Hundreds of protesters,including a large number of women,gathered at Ram Bhawan in Dussehra Ground here and marched towards Kharar bus stand through NH-21. On reaching the busy bus stand intersection,the protesters squatted on the middle of the highway and staged massive demonstration.
Due to the blockade,vehicular traffic on the highway was badly disrupted and within minutes long rows of vehicles on both sides of the NH-21 and also Kharar-Banur GT Road piled up. Though the police diverted the traffic from different points but it was only after almost two hours that Kharar SDM Rajiv Kumar Gupta managed to pacify the protesters after fixing their audience with Punjab Chief Minister in Chandigarh on April 11.
Renting the air with anti-government slogans,the agitators strongly criticised Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla for turning down their demand.
They alleged that Punjab government had regularized the services of the employees working on contract basis even in the case of employees who have just completed 3 years of service ignoring the employees of PHSC,who have been serving for more than 14 years without any break.They threatened that if their demands were not considered forthwith,they would be forced to intensify their stir.
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