Patiala: Raising their voice against unemployment, teacher aspirants in Punjab staged a sit-in protest on a bridge near the Bhakra canal on Monday and threatened to jump into the canal if their demand for a government job is not met.
Earlier, two out of a batch of nearly 20 protesters jumped into the Bhakra canal, were fished out by divers deployed by the police.
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In another protest, their fellow unemployed teachers have been staging a sit-in demonstration since Sunday in Patiala town, the hometown of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, and have been demanding a meeting with later for an assurance of a job.
Officials said their union was assured of a meeting with the Chief Minister on March 12 but the protesters were adamant on meeting him at an early date.
Officials said there are 16,000 unemployed teachers in the state. They have asked the government why it advertised just 1,600 posts last week when there are about 12,000 posts vacant in the Education Department.
According to reports, they said they would keep protesting until their demands were accepted.
A day earlier, high drama was witnessed on the outskirts of Patiala when two teachers jumped into the canal from a bridge located on the Patiala-Bathinda National Highway.