PUDUCHERRY: In a breakthrough, the Puducherry government has granted 33% reservation for women in fire services. Announcing the same at a press conference on Friday, Minister A K Sai J Saravana Kumar, who holds the portfolio for fire department among others, added that the recruitment will fill 75 posts lying vacant for the last 20 years.
Kumar said that this form of horizontal reservation was the first of its kind in south India. Of the total 58 posts of fire persons, 19 posts have been reserved for women. Two out of five posts of fire officer have also been allotted for the group. The minister added that another 12 posts of drivers will also be filled by direct recruitment and notification for the same has been issued. To further strengthen the department, Kumar noted, vehicles and equipment worth `10 crore are being procured and tenders for the same are being floated.
As the head of the civil supplies department, Kumar responded to a query and said that 44,000 new red ration cards have been issued in the UT, while 2,000 cards were cancelled in Yanam region, following complaint from Yanam MLA Golapalli Srinivas Ashok of ineligible families availing the benefits. Kumar also disclosed that among those whose cards were cancelled, included government employees in Puducherry, but did not reveal the exact number.
Additionally, the minister for rural development assured 100 days of employment for workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNERAGA), by the end of the financial year. Lastly, Kumar said that the Jain community has been included in the list of minorities in Puducherry, and is now entitled to reservation.