The unions which participated in the dharna included Road Workers Union, Public Health Maintenance Technical & Sweepers Union, Water Supply Workers, UT Horticulture Workers Union, Mechanical Workshop Workers Union, Association of Anganwari Helpers Workers Union, Kitchen Gardening & Nursery Union, Chandigarh Transport Undertaking Conductors and Drivers Union, General Hospital Sweepers Union, Technical Services Employees Union and United Front Public Health Employees Union.

The activists were protesting the alleged callous attitude of the Chandigarh Administration towards their demands, which include the release of bonus for 1997-98, regularisation of daily wagers on the Punjab pattern, restoration of technician scales from retrospective effect, among others.

ADASA strike continues
Members of the Chandigarh chapter of the Akashvani and Doordarshan Administrative Staff Association continued their indefinite strike against the alleged indifferent attitude of the government toward their demands. The employees sat outside the office of the All India Radio, in Sector 35, to stage their protest.

The strike which began on a call by the president of the national council, ADASA, entered the fifth day today. The demands of the association include, pay parity with the programme and engineering cadres of the AIR and Doordarshan and implementation of their demands which had been accepted earlier.

Dharna by FCI staff
Members of the All India Food Corporation of India Class IV Employees Union, Punjab and Haryana Security Guard and Casual Union staged a dharna outside the office of the Senior Regional Manager, Haryana, in Sector 17, today.

The employees are demanding the reinstatement of the nearly 300 sacked employees who were earlier kept as casual workers by the departments. Union president Dilbagh Singh said that they would intensify the agitation by striking work in the FCI if their demands were not met.

Black badge protest
The members of Class IV Museum Workers Union, here, are observing a black badge protest at the Government Museum & Art Gallery, Sector 10, against the alleged indifferent attitude of the director regarding the promotion of Class-D workers and other demands.

The workers allege that they have met the director in this context time and again but in vain.

The other demands of the workers include the implementation of selection grades, promotion of sweepers and gardeners, grant of special allowance and creation of the posts of head attendant, chowkidar, gardener and sweeper. The workers plan to continue their protest till their demands are accepted.

Teachers' strike on
The hunger strike by the members of the Punjab Nav Niyukt Adhyapak Union entered the 19th day today. The members are protesting the dismissal of the teachers by the state government on November 13, 1997 and have been demanding their jobs back.

Tejinder Kaur, one of the sacked teachers was the first to sit on hunger strike. Meanwhile, Gurcharan Singh, who was the fourth to observe fast unto death, is sitting outside the office of the Director Public Instructions (S) in Sector 17. Others who had sat on fast unto death, Tejinder Kaur, Ritu Joshi and Jaspal Singh, are under treatment at the city hospitals.

Hunger strike
The indefinite hunger strike by Gurjeet Singh, Students' Union president, Government College Zira, entered the second day yesterday.

The students are protesting the shifting of the examination centre 50 km away from the college. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) is supporting the students' demand for reshifting the examination centre for regular students at Government College, Zira.

Meanwhile, the Panjab University Campus Students' Council president D. P. S. Randhawa met the Vice-Chancellor to forward the demand.

Gate meeting by Markfed Employees Union
A gate meeting was held by members of the Markfed Employees Union on the premises of Markfed headquarters in Sector 35 today to press for their demands. The employees are protesting the expenditure on the Tercentenary celebrations of the Khalsa by the Markfed and the deputation of as many as 300 Markfed officials.

Markfed Employees Union president Ranjit Goyal alleged that the Punjab government had issued instructions to the heads of various departments not to arrange or participate in any political or religious function but that itself was not following the decorum. He further said that the money spent on celebrations could have been utilised to fulfill their long pending demands.

The employees alleged that the management was not paying any attention to their demands, which include among others promotions, upgradation of stenography cadre posts, creation and upgradation of posts for new districts and extension of car loans to employees with a basic pay of Rs 7,200. He further informed that gate meetings would be held daily by the employees to save Markfed from the financial burden.