Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Scores of youths turned up for the recruitment drive launched by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Humhama on Srinagar outskirts for 1,357 posts of constables, officials said today.
The recruitment was done after almost 14 months as due to the situation that arose post abrogation of article 370 on August 5 last year, the process got halted. Covid-19 pandemic also played spoilsport. However, BSF and CISF officials decided to launch a massive recruitment drive to fill its vacant posts today.
Since early morning, long queues of aspiring youths were seen outside BSF headquarters at Humhama near Srinagar International airport. “I have come to join BSF. My all efforts to grab a job in government departments failed. Now I am trying my luck with the BSF’s recruitment drive,” said Adil Rashid Dar, 22, who had come from Pattan area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Another youth from Srinagar said that he reached the venue at 8 am in the morning and is in the queue waiting for his turn . “I have done Masters in Commerce and I am an athlete. Let’s see what luck has in store for me,” he said, adding that “CISF is my first choice but if I get selected for BSF only, doesn’t matter. What I need is a job to help my family. Our financial position is weak and I want to earn for my family.”
Waiting in long queues, many youth cited financial constraints for joining the forces. “Kashmir has been facing tremendous hardships for the past three decades. Here, we have lot of unemployment and trouble all around. There is lot of unemployment. We have been striving hard to get the jobs, but to no avail. Today, we are sure that at least we will grab the job in BSF or CISF,” said a group of enthusiastic youth in the queue.
Speaking to NVI on the sidelines of the recruitment process, Inspector General of BSF for Kashmir frontier, Rajesh Mishra said that he is happy to see a large number of youths turning up for BSF and CISF recruitment process. “There are total 1357 posts of constables for which 11000 youth applied. Out of 11000, 5800 have been shortlisted for the written test. Such recruitment rallies should take place frequently so that youth get a chance to earn livelihood,” he said. He said that candidates who will qualify the written test will go through medical and other formalities before joining BSF or CISF.
The IGP BSF said that youth in Kashmir are full of talent and their talent needs to be explored. “Today, it’s a happy moment for us to see youth in large numbers eagerly waiting to join BSF and CISF to serve the nation,” Mishra said.
-ARK