GRADUATES LINE UP TO BE COOLIES
and/or www.mantra.com/jai
By Shreya Bhandary, TNN
The Times of India
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Applicants undertake physical test at the Parel Railway workshop in Mumbai.(TOI Photo)
Mumbai - BCom student Ganesh Sanap is now busy applying for jobs. The
latest job the 21-year-old third year student -- who has also
finished a Railway workshop course in computer hardware -- has
applied for is that of the post of a licensed porter in Central
Railway.
"As long as I get a job which pays me a decent sum, I don't mind
working as a coolie," Sanap said on Monday, after a test of his
physical endurance at the Parel Railway Workshop grounds. The student
of K J Somaiya, however, has not yet informed his parents.
"As long as I'm not doing anything illegal, I don't see why my
parents would object," he added. Sanap was not the only person --
looking to become a graduate soon -- who was there at Parel,
competing for a porter's job. There were, in fact, many more people -
- like Sagar Deshmukh and Madhav Avhad -- who graduated a couple of
years back but still came to apply for a porter's job on Monday.
For Narendra Kudalkar (26), a long phase of unemployment led him to
try out his luck. Earlier, he used to work as a supervisor at a
construction site before he was thrown out of the job without any
reason. "I never got a permanent post anywhere after that. I'm hoping
to land a job here," said Kudalkar.
Sanap and Kudalkar are among the 1,311 applicants -- many of them
graduates with additional professional qualifications -- vying for 79
jobs that don't guarantee them any income every day. The applicants
have to go through a stringent process before being sent for the
final selection.
After finishing a 1,500-metre run in seven minutes, the applicants
are sent for a medical screening. ''Half of the applicants turn up
for the medical tests and only those who pass that test are eligible
for the post,'' Central Railway PRO Anil K Singh said.
The long list of applications coming from graduates doesn't come as a
surprise to the railways. ''Many of these porters don't even stick to
the rates specified by the union and end up raking in extra money.
Moreover, they also get promotions on a regular basis,'' Singh said.
Former railway minister Lalu Prasad had introduced a scheme through
which porters could be promoted as railway gangmen. ''Once they get
hired as a porter, they can look forward to the job of a gangman.
This is the main attraction for all the applicants,'' added Singh.
But many applicants were not happy with the stringent procedures.
''We were made to run 200 metres in 40 seconds with 40 kgs on our
back. It is an impossible task,'' graduate applicant Sagar said.But
railway officials say it is a very important procedure.
More at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Graduates-line-up-to-be-coolies/articleshow/5434566.cms
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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