Holding a degree in hand, thousands of graduates are standing in line to apply for 549 vacancies at the Coimbatore corporation. This is the sad state of joblessness in Tamil Nadu.
Over 7000 graduates, have applied for the job of a sanitary worker in the city, ANI reported.
The three-day interview and verification of certificates began on Friday.
Soumya, a B.Sc Psychology degree holder, "I have completed my education. There were no qualifications mentioned for this post. I applied for this because I need a government job.”
Arun Kumar, who completed his engineering degree from a private college, said the dearth of opportunities and low-paid jobs are driving many to apply for jobs that don't really fit their interests. "They are calling for municipality workers. I searched in many places and I am not getting jobs, so I applied here,” he said.
The job posted by Coimbatore Municipal corporation is offering Rs 15,700 as initial salary. Many graduates said they have been getting odd-jobs that pay at most Rs 6,000 per month. Also, for such a government job, the work hours are limited to six hours a day, which gives them scope to juggle another day job.
It is important to note that no job should be deemed as menial as every profession plays an important role in society.
'Surge in Unemployment'
The situation has earned criticism from the opposition in the state as well as from many students.
DMK President MK Stalin slammed the Centre and Tamil Nadu government for not keeping a watch on the rising unemployment and layoffs in the IT sector.
He tweeted that, "It's a peak of unemployment struggle. A curse on Tamil Nadu with no creation of industries and jobs. Already IT companies in Tamil Nadu are laying off employees citing artificial reasons."
"It's a merciless and dangerous game by Centre and the state."MK Stalin, DMK President
He cited reports suggesting that over 40,000 IT employees will lose their jobs across India soon.
Only recently, a similar situation was witnessed in Bihar. Over 5 lakh candidates applied for vacancies for just 166 posts in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha.
The jobs were in the Group D category, which included watchman, gardener, peon and cleaners. Most of the applicants for the jobs were B-Tech and MBA graduates.
The minimum qualification required for these posts are 10th class pass.
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