'Govt should make an effort to give one job per family'
'Govt should make an effort to give one job per family'
GUWAHATI: At 55, Shankari Bhattacharjee still carries the regret of missing out on a govt job in the 1990s. Despite graduating in humanities more than three decades ago from Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati, she failed to clear a recruitment test for schoolteachers' post, for which she blames alleged unfair means adopted by past administrations while hiring.
Three decades on, a govt job is the top priority for all three generations of the family. Shankari, her mother, 85-year-old Manju Bhattacharjee, and 26-year-old son, Bishal Bhattacharjee, are all agreed on this point.
The Bhattacharjees have lived in an ancestral plot of land in Udaypur locality in the city's Birubari area since 1979, with Shankari working as a private tutor to run the family.
"When I first voted in the 1980s, unemployment was the major issue. In the early '90s, soon after graduating, I applied for a govt job as a high school teacher but could not get it because of unfair recruitment procedures. Today, there may be more transparency in the hiring process, but my son is facing the same problem. This time I voted (on May 7) with a wish that the new govt would at least make an effort to give one govt job to every family," said Shankari.
Bishal completed BCA (Bachelor in Computer Application) in 2019 from Pragjyotish College, Guwahati, with a first class. But he failed to get the grade III job in the state govt that he had applied for. The BJP-led govt has promised one lakh govt jobs every year. Bishal now works in a computer training institute in Guwahati.
"After graduation, I sat for a couple of interviews for state govt jobs. One was that of a computer operator and the second the grade III job. But I failed to qualify for either," said Bishal, adding that he hopes the new govt will do away with caste-based politics and reservation in jobs. "Reservation has not benefited families like us."
His grandmother, meanwhile, is happy to get a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,250, given to needy women by the state govt under Orunodoi scheme. "But that's not enough for me to take care of my medical needs at this age," she said. "I hope the govt will consider such basic requirements for lakhs of families like ours."
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