BENGALURU: For the past few days, footpaths and other areas offering shelter in and around Benson Town have been crowded with young men who have travelled to the city from faraway states, in response to a recruitment call by the Territorial Army.
However, applicants who showed up earlier than the scheduled date of December 4, have been spending the intervening days on the streets, with most of them unable to afford to lodge.
With temperatures dropping steadily as winter sets in, residents of nearby homes have come forward to ensure that the applicants don’t freeze or go hungry. Many have offered food, money, blankets, old newspapers and other items they can spare to make sure the applicants stay in some comfort, till the recruitment process begins on Tuesday morning.
On Monday night, TNIE visited Benson Town and surrounding areas near Cantonment Railway Station, and spoke to several of the applicants, all hopeful that they would crack the recruitment test, despite having spent the past few days on the pavement. Rakesh Sharma, 28, from a small village in Rajasthan, said, “I have come along with four friends to join the army. We thought arrangements would be made for us to stay, but now we are searching for someplace on the footpath to spend the night.”
The recruitment call was to fill 57 posts of general duty soldiers, a blacksmith, washerman, equipment repairer, community chef and special community chef for the 106 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army) PARA. Applications were invited from aspirants aged between 18 and 42 years and drew responses from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. They were asked to report at the battalion campus at Benson Town, Chinnappa Garden, at 5 am.
The recruitment process will conclude on December 12. However, it is expected that those who clear the first round on Tuesday will be provided lodging. In spite of the chill in the air and hard pavement to rest on, the applicants were full of hope. Tabassum, a resident, said, “I can help three or four people, but there are thousands here. I have given them blankets and old newspapers. I wish I could do more.” Residents could also be found cheering for them. “They are joining the army and it is not an easy task. Maybe sleeping on the road is itself an endurance test,” said Rex Kumaran, a resident.