All 544 Sewa Kendras Shut as Operators Strike Over Fines in Punjabਪੰਜਾਬ ਵਿੱਚ 544 ਸੇਵਾ ਕੇਂਦਰ ਬੰਦ, ਸੰਚਾਲਕਾਂ ਦੀ ਜੁਰਮਾਨਿਆਂ ਖ਼ਿਲਾਫ਼ ਹੜਤਾਲ

Work came to a halt at all 544 Sewa Kendras across Punjab from Thursday afternoon, October 29, as operators walked out in protest against heavy penalties imposed on them for service errors. People who reached the centres for Aadhaar and other citizen services found the work stopped, according to The Punjab Standard and Punjab E News.

Why have the operators walked out?

Sewa Kendra Employees Union state president Jaswinder Singh Gill said departments and companies linked to the services were fining operators heavily for minor errors and technical glitches in Aadhaar and other citizen services. He called the penalties inhuman and said they had pushed staff into deep financial trouble, The Punjab Standard reported.

Jaswinder Saini, the union's Pathankot district president, who led the protest at the Malikpur Sewa Kendra, said operators were being fined between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh without any fair process. "With fines this heavy, running these centres is becoming impossible," he said. Saini said the union had raised its problems with the Punjab government, the Department of Governance Reforms and the companies for a long time, but its demands kept being ignored.

What do the operators want?

The operators want the penalty system stopped at once, all old penalties cancelled and a permanent solution to their problems. They have said the strike will continue until Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann steps in personally, reviews the penalty system and provides relief. The union was to hold a state-level meeting on Thursday evening to decide its next course of action. No response from the Punjab government had been reported when the strike began.

Second Sewa Kendra strike this year

This is not the first shutdown of the centres in 2026. Sewa Kendra staff went on an indefinite strike on May 26, that time demanding permanent jobs and higher salaries. As that strike entered its third week, the government asked deputy commissioners to arrange alternative staff to keep the centres running, The Punjab Standard reported.

The walkout also lands in the middle of a wider run of employee protests against the AAP government, now a little over two months from the 2027 assembly elections. More than 3 lakh government employees took mass casual leave on August 27 over pending dearness allowance and other demands, and staff across Punjab again took two days of mass casual leave from October 21, hitting work in secretariats, offices and the power corporation.

Why do Sewa Kendras matter?

Sewa Kendras are the Punjab government's single-window centres for citizen services, handling Aadhaar-linked work and a long list of certificates and applications that people need for jobs, education, welfare schemes and property matters. When all 544 centres stop together, routine paperwork stops with them, which is why a dispute over fines on operators quickly becomes a problem for the public.

How many Sewa Kendras have shut in Punjab?

All 544 Sewa Kendras across Punjab stopped work from Thursday afternoon, October 29, after operators walked out over penalties, according to The Punjab Standard and Punjab E News.

What penalties are Sewa Kendra operators protesting?

The union says operators are fined between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh for minor errors and technical glitches in Aadhaar and other citizen services, without a fair process.

How long will the Sewa Kendra strike last?

The operators have said the strike will continue until Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann intervenes personally. The union's state-level meeting on Thursday evening was to decide the next steps.