Teachers block NH in Ludhiana, baton-charged

Police today resorted to mild baton charge to thwart a protest by thousands of teachers on the Grand Trunk Road here today.

The teachers were protesting in support of their demands, including regularisation of the contractual staff, Didar Singh, a representative of the teachers, said.

The teachers blocked vehicular traffic on Ludhiana-Jalandhar national highway for more than an hour.

They lifted the sit-in after an assurance from the Ludhiana district administration that Chief Minister Amarinder Singh would meet them on April 2 in Chandigarh.

The protest was organised by the Joint Teachers Front.

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal condemned the lathi charge on teachers.

In a statement issued in Chandigarh, Badal said the teachers were protesting "because the ruling Congress is refusing to honour its pre-election promise to regularise all 15,000 contractual teachers in the state."