Teacher organisations across Punjab staged protests against the state government's decision to terminate the services of 253 Master Cadre teachers, accusing the government of depriving hundreds of families of their livelihoods.
 

In Amritsar, teachers took out a protest march from the District Administrative Complex and raised slogans against the government. The protesters later burnt an effigy of the state government at Chheharta Chowk to express their anger over the termination orders.
 

The demonstration was led by Ashwani Awasthi, Germanjit Singh Chhajjalwaddi, Harwinder Singh Sultanwind, Aman Sharma, Navdeep Singh (4161) and Jagmohan Singh (3704).
 

Addressing the protesters, union leaders said the government, which claims to stand with ordinary people, had put the livelihoods of 253 families at risk through its decision. They argued that losing employment was equivalent to a major personal tragedy and accused the government of acting arrogantly by issuing dismissal orders to teachers who had been seeking justice in Gambhirpur, the native village of Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains.
 

The union leaders demanded the immediate withdrawal of the decision to terminate the teachers' services. They warned that any attempt to jeopardise teachers' employment would not be tolerated and said the agitation would be intensified in the coming days if the government failed to reconsider its decision.
 

Teachers Protest in Hoshiarpur, Burn Copies of Dismissal Orders
 

Hoshiarpur: Teacher organisations also organised a protest march from the District Administrative Complex in Hoshiarpur against the termination of 253 Master Cadre teachers.
 

During the demonstration, protesters burnt copies of the dismissal orders issued by the Education Department.
 

Addressing the gathering, union representatives said the government's decision had affected the livelihoods of 253 families. They also criticised the authorities for sending termination orders to teachers who had been protesting in Gambhirpur, the village of Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, for the past 10 days.
 

The leaders said a government that had promised to provide employment was now taking jobs away from teachers. They demanded that the termination decision be withdrawn immediately.
 

Teachers Burn Education Minister's Effigy in Batala
 

Batala: Various teachers' organisations in Punjab staged another protest in Batala against the Education Department's decision to terminate the services of 253 teachers.
 

The protesters burnt an effigy of the Education Minister at Shaheed Sukha Singh and Mehtab Singh Park.
 

Teacher leaders Som Singh, Dilbag Singh Padda, Ravinderjit Singh Pannu, Tajinder Singh Shah, Gurpreet Singh Rangilpur and Rashpal Singh addressed the gathering.
 

They said the 253 teachers had been working in schools for the past three years and had originally been selected on merit by senior officials.
 

The leaders alleged that the government was now issuing revised recruitment lists in a manner that, according to them, went against the Constitution.
 

Several other teachers and supporters, including Pawan Kumar, Sarabjit Singh Aulakh, Harjit Singh, Vassan Singh, Rajneesh Kumar, Satbir Singh, Pankaj Bedi, Satnam Singh, Pradeep Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Praveen Kumar, Kimti Lal, Paramjit Singh, Ashok Kumar and Amarjit Singh, were also present.
 

The protesting organisations reiterated their demand for the withdrawal of the termination orders and warned that they would continue their agitation until justice was delivered.