Teachers' stir chokes highway

MOHALI: Vehicular movement on the busy Chandigarh-Manali national highway came to a rude standstill for close to seven hours on Monday after around 300 computer teachers sat on dharna to protest termination of their services. The educators were fired on May 28.

The police, meanwhile, found it impossible to use force for dispersing the protesters as three teachers had climbed a nearby water tank and threatened to jump if they were coerced to end the agitation.

To save the commuters inconvenience, police diverted the traffic from Kharar bus stand towards Khanpur village, further linking it to Ludhiana-Ropar road. However, many cars and trucks were seen stranded in the jam for seven hours in the sweltering heat.

The teachers had gathered near Khanpur village around 12.15pm and by 12.30pm, they proceeded on the dharna.

Fire tenders and ambulance were also seen parked nearby to prevent any mishap.

While commuters were heard complaining about the undue harassment, the agitating teachers demanded an audience with chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to request him for reinstatement.

As word about the sit-in spread, senior officials of administration and police force reached the spot. Things returned to normalcy around 7pm after a meeting of the teachers was fixed with the CM on Tuesday.