KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Scores of unemployed youth Wednesday held a protest demonstration in Srinagar’s Press Colony against the alleged delay in release of the final list of candidates appointed as firemen in Fire and Emergency Services Department J&K.
This is the third time in past three weeks that the aggrieved youth assembled in the Press Colony to protest against authorities for delaying the release of the list.
Last time they had warned the authorities of massive protests, now they have threatened to put locks on gates and doors of all fire and emergency stations across Kashmir, if the delay persists.
The angry youth chanted slogans against DG Fire Service RS Sodhi for creating “unnecessary delay” in release of the list.
Notably, the aggrieved youth had protested against the administration last Sunday as well, however, “the authorities of J&K Fire & Emergency Services did not pay any heed to our concerns so far”.
Around 95000 candidates had applied against 852 posts as fireman in fire and emergency department in 2013. Three months later the students appeared for physical test and then 14000 of them qualified the written test which was held in 2014. “Since then the process has come to a halt for no reason,” claimed Bilal A Ganai, another protestor.
The demonstrators claimed that number of the aspirants has crossed the ‘over-age’ limit and “they are in distress and it’s all because of callous approach of administration”.
Most of the candidates hail from rural areas.
“We everyday walk a couple of kilometres to fetch a newspaper in the hope of finding the appointment list,” said representative of the candidates, Imtiyaz Ahmad Shah of Budgam.
“The appointment list is being held back for political reasons,” the protesters alleged, “the unionist political parties are doing so at the cost of our careers, lives.”
