Police elicits positive response in Job mela of Mahbubnagar

Mahabubnagar: Youth in Palamuru came out in unprecedented number to attend the job mela conducted by Mahabubnagar District Police, in association with Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA), at the Police Parade Grounds on Monday.

Many unemployed youth of Palamuru for the first time showed that they were willing to go out of their villages and ready to work for any company they may find themselves fit for.

Police Department expected a total turnout of 800 youths, but over 1,500 youths attended the mela. As many as 50 jobs for emergency technicians, 50 for call centre executives and around 180 for security guards were up for grabs.

Requirements for the first two categories was that the applicant should have a degree, good communication skills, and basic computer knowledge. Security guards can join work starting from March 1. Most of the candidates were between the age group of 18 and 23 years, but some above 40 years also participated in the mela.

Many young girls who had passed SSC came to apply for security job positions but they were disappointed because it was for men only. One woman, who had worked as a Home Guard but had left the job due to low salary a couple of years ago, was also looking for a job as a security guard. Her daughter, who had worked as an Asha worker had come with her child and husband, hoping to apply for some job.

Applications piled-up while the crowd was literally pushing their way through, to apply for available positions. Tests for shortlisted candidates would be conducted on March 1 and 2, after which final selections would be done.

“Job camps are conducted here once in a while, but hardly 50 people attend the mela. This time youth came out in large numbers as they trust the police. They know here they won’t have to pay bribes and the process would be transparent. They know that if something happens, police is there to take care of it,” said Manmohan, PRO to District SP B Anuradha.

However, one worrying aspect which came to the fore during the mela was that well qualified youth also applied for jobs with less pay. One of the candidates, who passed BSc and BEd and is teaching in Saraswathi Shishu Mandir, a school for BPL kids (mostly orphans and semi-orphaned children), for mere Rs 6,000, also came to apply. He wanted to apply for emergency medical technician jobs in GVK 108 ambulance service but his application was not accepted because he was 29-year-old, just a year above the requirement.

Many of the youth with BSc and BCom degrees came to apply for call centre positions and medical technician jobs. “By engaging with the youth through our community policing initiative, we have been able to at bring them out and that is a good change to start. We want them to go out there and start learning about the outside world,” Anuradha told Telangana Today.

District police would conduct such kind of job melas once in three months. Some observers said. companies need to follow ‘equal opportunity’ and start hiring women as security guards because women could be seen in all professions so why not security?, they questioned.

Of late, cross-departmental and inter-disciplinary studies have found their way into education system. Youth are anxious to try new careers now, which was visible in the job mela. This is a good change.

“Qualified youth applying for diverse areas and showing interest in learning new skills could go a long way. Most importantly, a joint effort by District Employment Exchange, District Rural Development Authority, MEPMA and departments concerned need to conduct such job melas by using good publicity methods,” said an observer.