Unemployment woes : 140 aspirants vying for each J&K Police constable post

Over 5.5 lakh aspirants for 4,002 positions; Jammu district tops with 54k applications

Jammu: In a stark reflection of the severe unemployment crisis in Jammu and Kashmir, nearly 140 candidates are set to compete for a single constable post in the upcoming J&K Police recruitment exams, scheduled to begin on December 1.
According to official figures, the J&K Police recruitment for 4,002 constable positions has attracted a staggering 5, 59,135 applicants. The examinations for the same, to be conducted by J&K Services Selection Recruitment Board, will take place on December 1, December 8, and December 22.
During a meeting of civil administration and police department, headed by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, at Civil Secretariat today, the Chairperson, J&K SSRB, Indu Kanwal Chib revealed, “Out of the total applicants, 2,62,863 candidates will appear for the Constables (Executive/Armed/SDRF) exam on December 1, across 856 centers in the UT. Jammu district alone has the highest turnout, with 54,296 candidates”.
“For the Constable (Telecommunication) exam, scheduled for December 8, as many as 1,67,609 candidates will appear, while 1,28,663 candidates will sit for the Constable (Photographer) exam on December 22,” she further disclosed.
These striking numbers have come to fore against the backdrop of the recent troubling unemployment data from the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for the July-September quarter. The survey revealed that Jammu and Kashmir has the highest youth unemployment rate in India, with 32 percent of urban job seekers aged 15-29 unemployed. Even more concerning was that female unemployment in the UT stands at a staggering 53.6 percent, significantly surpassing the national average.
Sources said it would be a daunting task for the UT administration and Police Department to conduct the exams for selection of Constables in Police in a most fair and transparent manner.
Earlier, the Chief Secretary urged the Deputy Commissioners to visit as many exam centres as possible besides creating teams under senior administration officers to examine all the exam centres established in their districts. He sensitized them to ensure that no untoward incident of copying or malpractice occurs anywhere and orders the deployment of enough security personnel at each centre in the district.