Garhshankar (Hari Krishan Gangar):- Following a protest rally at Gandhi Park, employees and pensioners of Garhshankar block took out a protest march through the town and raised strong slogans against the Punjab government on the second day of the mass casual leave observed on October 21 and 22. The protest was organised by the Coordination Committee based on the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Front and the Sanjha Mulazam Manch Punjab against the state government’s anti-employee and anti-pensioner attitude. The rally and march were led by Makhan Singh Wahidpuri, Mukesh Kumar, Sham Sunder Kapoor, Amrik Singh, Balbir Khanpuri, Jeet Banwai, Hans Raj Garhshankar and Jaswinder Kumar.
Various speakers said that the Chief Minister had promised during a meeting with the Coordination Committee that meetings would be held with the committee during the first week of every month to resolve the demands of employees and pensioners. However, the Chief Minister had backed out of this promise, just as he had done earlier. As a result, the resentment and anger among Punjab’s employees and pensioners had taken the form of a major agitation, including the massive protest rally held in Sangrur on October 10 and the protest rallies and demonstrations organised across the state on October 21 and 22, when employees took mass casual leave.
The protesters demanded that the pending instalments of dearness allowance be released along with arrears; the old pension scheme be restored; a multiplication factor of 2.59 be implemented for pensioners and pension revision; all honorarium-based workers be brought under the ambit of minimum wages; discontinued allowances be restored; the anti-employee letters dated July 17, 2020, and January 15, 2015, be withdrawn; privatisation of government departments be stopped; vacant posts be filled immediately on a regular basis; suitable posts be created according to requirements; and rising inflation be brought under control. The speakers warned that the government’s indifference towards employees and pensioners would prove very costly for it. They said employees and pensioners across Punjab would participate wholeheartedly in whatever agitation the Coordination Committee announces in the future.
Those present included Naresh Kumar, Balbir Khanpuri, Principal Bikkar Singh, Gurnam Singh Hajipur, Vinay Kumar, Vinod Kumar Rana, Narinder Kumar, Manjit Singh Banga, Pawan Goel, Satpal Kaler, Pawan Kumar Garhi, Balwant Ram, Major Singh, Parminder Pakhhowal, Shingara Ram, Bikkar Singh, Gurnam Singh Hajipur, Gurmail Singh, Joginder Singh Heer, Manjit Armaan, Jarnail Dgham, Sandeep Kumar, Gurnit Kumar, Bedi Moila, Raman Kumar, Dalvir Singh, Anupam Sharma, Resham Kaur, Kanta Rani, Gurbakhsh Kaur, Sarika, Geetanjali, Kamaljit Kaur, Manjit Singh, Parminder Kumar, Jatinder Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Narinder Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Jaswinder Singh, Ram Sarup, Paramjit Singh, Ram Kumar and Mohan Singh.
