HYDERABAD: The scramble for a job turned into a scene of desperation at Saroornagar Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday, with stampede-like scenes forcing the police to use lathis to bring the situation under control. The incident drew sharp criticism from the Opposition, which linked the desperation of unemployed youth to the Congress government’s promises to provide jobs.
Thousands of unemployed youth turned up for physical tests conducted by the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) for 150 posts.
HYDRAA officials said more than 3,000 aspirants attended the first day of recruitment for 100 Disaster Response Force Assistant posts and 50 driver posts. The two-day selection process started on Saturday.
The massive turnout led to chaos at the venue, prompting police to deploy barricades to regulate the crowd. At one point, police resorted to using batons to disperse a section of the unruly gathering.
Aspirants expressed dissatisfaction with the arrangements, alleging that they were made to stand in long queues without adequate facilities. Several candidates had travelled from different districts in the hope of securing employment.
Officials said they initially faced difficulties receiving applications and issuing tokens for the physical tests as a large number of candidates attempted to participate in the process simultaneously. They repeatedly announced over the public-address system that all eligible candidates would be allowed to apply and get an opportunity to appear for the tests, while appealing for cooperation.
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With additional crowd-management measures and cooperation from the candidates, the situation was brought under control and the recruitment process continued without any untoward incident, officials said.
Meanwhile, former minister T Harish Rao demanded an apology from the Telangana government over the alleged treatment of candidates at the HYDRAA recruitment. Questioning Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, he said the Congress had promised jobs to unemployed youth during its election campaign but was now treating them harshly when they turned up seeking employment.