THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, July 7: In an overwhelming response to the advertisement for the recruitment of fourth-grade personnel in Palamu, 35,000 plus applications were received till the last day, July 5.
There are in all 585 vacant posts out of which 300 plus are reserved. Recruitments are to be finalised by August 9.
District Employment Officer (DEO) Dhananjay Kumar and his team of just two personnel did a fantastic job in all these days when the applications came here first trickling and then in an avalanche form.
A postal bag used to be invariably of 3,000 plus applications. Each of the application envelopes were counted and matched with the postman’s delivery slip. It was an enormous task which the DEO Dhananjay Kumar and his very small team performed quite well, said sources.
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Tireless Efforts from Officials and Postal Staff
Nodal Officer M Jawed Husaain who is the Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC) kept an hour to hour tracking of the ‘swelling of the applications’ in all these days.
The Pradhan Dak Ghar (Head Post Office) and its ancillary post offices did a painstaking job as all the 35,000-plus application envelopes were booked for registered post or speed post.
Again, as for the fee, the administration had given two options. One bank demand draft. Two, Indian Postal Order.
Sources said more than 80 per cent of the applicants bought IPOs instead of going for bank demand draft.
Postal Superintendent S K Sangam told this correspondent, “Our postal team right from Pradhan Dak Ghar to the branch post offices took it as a challenge and endeavoured hard to meet the demands for the IPOs and bookings in such huge numbers.”
Additional Collector Kundan Kumar, who was instrumental most in the preparation of the advertisement, along with the Deputy Collector in charge General Section, Rashmi Ranjan, was very cautious about the ‘wording of the text of the advertisement’.
The text of the advertisement was free of any jargon or hackneyed terms. It was too plain and simple for one trying to grab a post of peon!
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Highly Qualified Youth Seek Peon Posts
The Jharkhand Story correspondent spoke to some applicants and was stunned to find that girls having English honours and Master’s degrees are the applicants for the post of peon.
An English honours cum MA English girl applicant, name protected for privacy, said, “A job is a job no matter how one looks at it. It hardly matters if you get a chair to sit in or a wooden tool to sit near the door of the chamber. And again, no job is any disheartening. I believe in the dignity of labour.”
Sources said the stock of 35,000 plus applications will be shifted to another government building located on the premises of the Collectorate, where a fleet of computer terminals will be used to upload the details of the applicants. The uploading has to be fast and swift, said sources.
Uncertainty Over Selection Criteria
However, there lies a multi-dollar question. What will be the criteria for the recruitment? Marks obtained in class 10th or a simple written test? There is now an uncertainty.
Palamu administration was frank enough to advertise 1Oth pass marks as the cut-off line. However some statements coming from a powerful legislator cum minister created an impression that 10th pass marks will be waived and in its place will be a simple written test.
However, till the time of filing of this report, there hasn’t come any instruction/ direction/ order of the government as to how to go about the recruitment process.
The 35,000-plus strong lot of the applicants will heave a sigh of relief if the government gives its final go-ahead to this recruitment process, said sources.
