Police use water cannons, tear gas shells to disperse Haryana employees demanding restoration of OPS

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The Haryana Police on Sunday used water cannons and tear gas shells to disperse a large group of state government employees holding a demonstration in Panchkula for the restoration of the Old Pension Scheme.

Police took action when the demonstrators, who had gathered on the Panchkula-Chandigarh border, tried to cross over into the Union Territory and march towards the Haryana chief minister's residence and 'gherao' it to press for their demand.

There was heavy police deployment at the site on the border, police said.

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The demonstrators had gathered under the banner of the 'Old Pension Scheme (OPS) Restoration Struggle Committee' and a representative of the panel, while speaking to reporters in Panchkula, claimed that a few employees had suffered injuries during the police action.

"Restoration of OPS is a legitimate demand. Governments of Rajasthan, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have restored it. The Haryana government has given an excuse that the government will go bankrupt if OPS is restored, which is not correct," the committee's representative said.

He said that an employee gives 25 to 30 years of service to a department. "Politicians have in the past also been getting pensions for multiple terms, so what are we demanding...," he said.

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