LAHORE: Motorists faced traf fic congestion as yellow-jacket clad engineers of the Irrigation Department staged a sit-in at Charing Cross on Wednesday.

The closure of the main city artery added to pressure on adjoining roads leading to prolonged traffic jams there. The situation was further complicated when a group of students from the Punjab University also appeared on The Mall to demand their rights.

The district administration deployed police in riot gear and moved a water cannon to the spot.

Hundreds of engineers, including women, had marched from their offices on Church Road close to Anarkali up to the Charing Cross earlier in the day.

Their use of yellow jacket symbolizes the citizens` movement going on in French capital Paris against oil price hike.

The engineers, however, are demanding payment of technical allowance three-fold of their basic pays and a time-scale based service structure. They are also seeking non-practicing allowance in lieu of private practice and upgrading their posts.

They staged a protest camp at the lawns of the Communication & Works department on Tuesday and decided to take their campaign to the busy Mall Road as authorities gave a fig to their demands.

In a late night development, the engineers announced ending their protest at the culmination of four-hour-long negotiations between their leaders and the government.

They claimed that all their demands had been accepted by the government.

The announcement that payment of technical allowance would start from the month of March made the protestors to dance in jubilation on The Mall before dispersing peacefully.hour-long negotiations between their leaders and the government.

They claimed that all their demands had been accepted by the government.

The announcement that payment of technical allowance would start from the month of March made the protestors to dance in jubilation on The Mall before dispersing peacefully.