Wanting to meet CM, unemployed teachers clash with police during protest march

Shimla, August 28

A minor scuffle broke out between the Unemployed Physical Education Teachers’ Association and police personnel when the protesters tried to head towards the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly to meet Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu regarding their long withstanding demand of immediate filling of 870 vacant posts of physical education teachers.

Protesters irked

We have come to Shimla 14 times in the last seven years and have staged six peaceful protests to raise our demands and today when we are trying to meet CM Sukhu regarding our demands, barricades were installed to stop us which is completely wrong. Ramesh Rajpoot, Unemployed Physical Education Teachers’ Association president

On Tuesday, the teachers’ body had announced that it will gherao the Legislative Assembly on the second day of the monsoon in order to make the state government fulfill their demands. Hundreds of unemployed physical education teachers, along with their family members, gathered at Chaura Maidan today and raised slogans against the state government. Barricades were installed to prevent them from entering the premises of the Legislative Assembly. Irked by not being allowed to meet the CM, the protesters tried to break through the barricade but were stopped by the police. During the protest, Unemployed Physical Education Teachers’ Association president Ramesh Rajpoot said that they had been demanding the state government to fill the vacant posts for a very long time but the state government was not taking fulfilling their demand.

“We have come to Shimla 14 times in the last seven years and have staged six peaceful protests in order to raise our demands and today when we are trying to meet CM Sukhu regarding our demands, barricades were installed to stop us which is a matter of shame and is completely wrong” he said.

“Himachal Pradesh was ranked number two in quality education but now it has reached to number 18 and the reason behind this is that the teachers are on the streets. In sports, Himachal has zero contribution and this is because physical education teachers are unemployed,” he said.

The Association warned the state government of intensifying their movement by collectively burning their degrees if they state government does not start the process of filling up the vacant posts soon. Earlier, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap had stated at a recent meeting regarding the maintenance of law and order during the monsoon session that no protests will be allowed near the Legislative Assembly.