Forty-seven government college professors and lecturers were booked and detained by police after they staged a sit-in near Chief Minister's House on Wednesday which caused a major disruption in the flow of traffic, police officials said.

According to SSP South Sheeraz Nazeer, 44 male and 3 female teachers have been booked and shifted to various police stations.

The professors were protesting against a delay in their time-scale promotion. They claimed that a summary for the fulfilment of their demands had been approved by the then Sindh chief minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, but had yet to be implemented, compelling them to stage a sit-in.

As part of a Sindh-wide protest, around 200-250 professors participated in the protest held on Dr ZIauddin Ahmed Road. The protest call had been issued by the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA).

The police authorities held talks with the protesters to vacate the area but they allegedly refused to do so, according to a police officer. Protest rallies have been banned in the city's 'Red Zone' where the protest had taken place.

"We took the action of arresting them to get the road cleared for traffic," said the police official.

The SPLA announced a province-wide boycott of academic activities on Thursday against the police action and detention of their colleagues. Professors will wear black armbands in protest, according to a statement issued by the SPLA. 'Time-scale promotions denied to college professors'

The Sindh College Education Department issued a statement, regretting the "huge inconvenience caused to the general public" and the creation of an "unpleasant situation unbecoming of teachers".

The department noted that the protest was held "in disregard of Section 144 put in place for Chup Tazia" and that it "blocked main roads in district South in violation of general restrictions in place at the Red Zone".

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019