Friday is becoming the favourite day for protests, as a number of groups staged demonstrations halting civic life miserably. Charing Cross of The Mall presented the look of a battlefield when a serious scuffle between lady health workers and traders was witnessed for hours.
Lady health workers (LHW) were protesting for their unpaid salaries of the last four months. LHWs started reaching Charing Cross at around 10am and the sit-in picked momentum at 12pm. Thousands of workers kept the traffic choked at one of the most important arteries of the city, causing massive traffic mess at The Mall and its adjoining roads. The protest turned violent when some traders forcibly tried to disperse the workers. A brawl was observed when workers and traders hammered each other in a violent way injuring a few traders and lady health workers.
Police also baton-charged traders during their scuffle with LHWs. The protest kicked off at noon ended at around 4pm. Traders also protested on the traffic blockade and said that it was unfortunate that the protesters were not even allowing people to go for Friday prayers. LHWs had also protested on October 15 but the strength of the workers was much larger on Friday, as workers from other districts of Punjab also joined them. Protesters were also holding placards in which slogans against the Punjab government were written.
On the other hand, students of Intermediate protested on the dismal performance of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, (BISE) Lahore on the issuance of erroneous result. Hundreds of students from different public and private colleges blocked the traffic at Jail Road to register their protest. Students lashed out at the Punjab government saying that toppers were shown as failed online, which was never witnessed in history. They demanded instant measures on part of the Punjab government to solve their miseries. Students also chanted slogans against the board administration. They said that if the Punjab government had resolved the issue earlier then the situation would have been different today. Protests at different places of the city caused worst traffic jam at The Mall and its adjoining roads, Jail Road, China Chowk and Lawrence Road. Citizens and traders said that they were now fed up with these routine protests and sometimes they were even deprived of Friday prayers due to traffic blockade. They said that the inability of the state to provide facilities to its citizens was causing routine protests.
Hey its Friday, let’s protest!
