TIRUCHY: Southern Railway (SR) on Saturday started accepting applications for apprentice vacancies in its workshops and maintenance facilities.
Unlike the previous year, the SR will not be taking candidates outside its jurisdiction. Last year, the transporter came under severe criticism when it selected 1,765 candidates for an apprenticeship in Ponmalai workshop, out of which only 175 were from Tamil Nadu.
The criticizers pointed out that according to the Indian Railway's Apprentices Act 1961, the transporter has to give priority to the locals.
Apart from this, it was also pointed out that some of the candidates chosen for the apprenticeship scored more than 100 in a 100-mark examination.
Several politicians even demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities.
A protest was also held in front of Golden Rock railway workshop here in May, where the police arrested 451 members of Tamil Desiya Periyakkam, including 38 women.
Sources said that Indian Railways conducted an inquiry into the last year's recruitment.
Against this backdrop, the recruitment notice for this year has been released.
According to it, the SR will take 658 people (308 people for Golden Rock railway workshop in Ponmalai, 250 people for Tiruchy division and 100 people for Madurai division) from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshwadeep for training. The last date for this application (sr.indianrailways.gov.in) is December 31.
"We welcome the railway's decision to ensure fair selection in this recruitment. Last year, though the officials justified the exorbitant marks obtained by candidates from the northern states, it was acceptable.
However, many candidates from Tamil Nadu were affected. Therefore, the transporter should ensure transparency in the current recruitment process," said A Regan, coordinator, All India Railway Act Apprentice Association.
Notably, the SR also sent a copy of the recruitment notice to all the district employment officers of the respective states.
The railway also highlighted in the recruitment notice that there is no guarantee for employment in Indian Railway for these trainees.
However, it clarified that whenever it conducts direct recruitment exam to Level 1 post, the candidates from the states mentioned will get some preference (20 per cent of vacancies in direct recruitment).