Normal life in the city’s western sectors was disrupted for hours on Friday as thousands of Punjab Government employees and pensioners gathered at the Sector 39 grain market to protest over their demands. As they started marching towards the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to press their demands, they were stopped by police barricades, leading to scuffles, with police resorting to the use of water cannons, leaving many protesters injured.The protest, held under the banner of the Sanjha Mulazam and Pensioners’ Front and the Sanjha Mulazam Manch, Punjab, brought together employees’ organisations from across the state to the Sector 39 grain market. Having taken mass leave from their offices, the protesters had planned to gherao the Assembly, currently in its monsoon session, to demand the release of the pending 18% Dearness Allowance (DA), restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) and regularisation of contractual staff.Related news: Thousands of employees rally over DA arrears, OPS; warn of ‘Maha Bandh’ in PunjabAs the marchers, a large number of them women, tried to push past barricades erected near the Sector 39 entry from Mohali, the Chandigarh Police used water cannons to disperse the crowd. Several protesters, including some whose turbans came off in the melee, fell in the ensuing chaos and sustained minor injuries. Police said no major injury was reported by any protester or police personnel, including the equally large contingent of female cops deployed for the operation. No FIR had been registered in the matter till the filing of this report, SSP Kanwardeep Kaur confirmed.Commuters bear the bruntThe stand-off, which peaked during the afternoon, choked roads leading to Sectors 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 and 43 and the adjoining western parts of the city, forcing commuters into long detours. Services to and from the ISBT-43 were badly hit, as the protest site fell directly on the route used by buses plying in and out of the terminus.Traffic to and from the Sector 43 District Courts Complex was disrupted through the day. With the protest at its peak in the afternoon, school buses, staff vehicles and private cars ferrying students and teachers were stuck in traffic for long periods. Several teachers’ unions had already asked students to skip school a day in advance.Ambulances and other emergency vehicles headed to and from the PGI via the western sectors faced repeated diversions. The Chandigarh-Mohali stretch between Phase 6 and Sector 39 remained blocked for hours, cutting off a key entry and exit point for the Tricity.Normalcy back after protest called offAround 4.30 pm, as the stand-off showed no signs of easing, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD Navraj Brar reached the protest site and assured the employees of a meeting with the CM on August 27. Following the assurance, union leaders announced an end to the agitation and the protesters began dispersing, bringing normalcy back to the area.