Veterinary doctors shut down services in Mohali, burn Govt notifications in protest
Babushahi Bureau
SAS Nagar (Mohali), December 23, 2025:Veterinary doctors across the district SAS Nagar on Tuesday completely suspended veterinary services following a call given by the Joint Action Committee of Vets for Pay Parity, intensifying their protest against the Punjab government over long-pending demands.
As part of the two-day statewide agitation, all veterinary services in the district remained paralysed. The protesting doctors have been demanding restoration of pay parity with medicos, which they claim existed for 42 years, along with implementation of the Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) 4-9-14 scheme, restoration of HRA on NPA, and payment of full salary during the probation period. The veterinarians alleged that despite raising these legitimate demands for nearly five years, the government has continued to delay action.
On the first day of the protest, December 23, veterinary doctors assembled at district-level polyclinics and raised slogans against what they termed the government’s indifferent attitude. As a mark of protest, they burnt copies of the Finance Department letter dated January 4, 2021, which they allege disrupted pay parity through misleading and unfair methods, along with the Animal Husbandry Department notification dated January 12, 2021.
Addressing the gathering, Joint Action Committee Co-Convener Dr Abdul Majeed, State Media In-charge Dr Gurinder Singh Walia, District President Dr Nitin Gautam, and Dr Gurnam Singh urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to personally intervene and resolve the issue on a priority basis.
Several senior and retired veterinary officers also extended their support to the protest. Prominent among those present were Dr Harpreet Toor, Dr Prem Kumar, Dr Lakhan Sachdeva, Dr Kuljotvir Singh, Dr Rana Preet Gill, Dr Ritu Arora, Dr Devinder Pal Singh, along with retired officers Dr Madhukesh Palta, Dr Desh Deepak and Dr M.M. Singla, besides a large number of veterinary doctors.
The protesting veterinarians warned that if their demands continue to be ignored, the agitation may be further intensified in the coming days.