Aman Sood
Tribune News Service
Patiala, September 18
After CM Capt Amarinder Singh resigned, protesters squatting in Patiala for the past six months are now thinking of shifting base to some other district. They said they would wait for the new CM and “take a call on it soon”.
Contract employees holding permanent blockade near Theekri Wala Chowk here say they have called a meeting tomorrow to take a decision. “Once the new CM is announced, we will shift our protest to his hometown till our demands are met,” said Ravinder Singh. Several protests by government teachers, farmers, doctors, patwaris and contract employees have adversely affected normal life in Patiala. A number of unions have been protesting and demanding a meeting with Capt Amarinder Singh or threatening to march towards his official residence, troubling common residents.
While the CM has rarely visited his hometown in the past six months, hundreds of agitations have troubled residents of his constituency umpteen number of times.
According to the data collected by The Tribune, 1,153 dharnas were held in Patiala from March 1-August 31. Of these, 57 were state-level dharnas, for which the district administration had to call additional force from other districts and even reserve battalions. Several cops and agitators have been injured many times, some jumped into canal or climbed mobile towers. On an average, the district police and locals have been troubled by around 200 agitations per month.
Protesters may shift to ‘new’ CM’s district
{$excerpt:n}
