THE anganwadi workers and helpers were brutally  lathicharged , tear gas and water cannons were used to disperse thousands of workers who were agitating on their demands  in Chandigarh on March 11, 2015. The Anganwadi Workers Union Punjab (CITU) organised a massive rally in front of the office of director, social welfare department. The workers were marching in a procession to submit a memorandum when the Chandigarh police resorted to lathicharge on the workers. Many workers got seriously injured. The anganwadi workers were protesting against the               anti-people and anti-worker policies of the Modi led NDA government at the centre and Badal led Akali-BJP government  in Punjab.

The rally was addressed by Usha Rani, president AWHP ( CITU), Harjit Kaur Panjola, general secretary, Subhash Rani, state treasurer and Raghunath Singh, general secretary, CITU, Punjab . The speakers demanded that the anganwadi workers and helpers and other Scheme workers be treated as government employees, they should be covered under Minimum Wage Act, Rs 20,000 for workers and Rs 15,000 for helpers be fixed as monthly wage.

The anganwadi workers and helpers from 22 districts of Punjab reached the venue in jathas carrying red banners and raising slogans against the central and state governments. All the women workers were wearing red and white dresses and carried placards of their demands.

The workers moved in a procession to submit a memorandum to the chief minister after rally. The police tried to block the procession but the workers were determined to go ahead. The police used tear gas shells and  water cannons to disperse the workers but they marched on . The police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the workers in which many workers including Harjit Kaur, president and Krishna Kumari were seriously injured. Many workers fainted due to tear gas shells and water cannons.   The traffic at Aroma Hotel light point which is the busiest junction of the city remained suspended for more than three hours as the workers sat on dharna in the middle of the road. The police approached the Chief Minister’s Office. The personal secretary to the chief minster came to the agitating workers and received the memorandum. It was assured on behalf of the chief minister that the issues of anganwadi workers will be sympathetically considered and the concerned departments will be directed to settle the demands at the earliest.

The agitating workers then ended the dharna and the blockade. The union leaders declared that the struggle will continue till all the demands of the union are achieved. Balraj Kaur, Krishna Kumari, Surjeet Kaur, Meena Sharma, Gurpreet kaur,  Gurmel Kaur, Gurdeep Kaur, Gurbaksh Kaur and Amritpal Kaur also addressed the rally.