Recruitment of disabled in local bodies dept hanging fire

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, SEPTEMBER 11

When the Department of Local Government, Punjab, invited applications for a special recruitment drive for disabled persons in May 2019, many persons with disabilities had pinned hopes on getting a job after a long wait.

But even more than a year after the advertisement was published, the wait is only getting longer as the process to fill 350 backlog vacancies for disabled persons in various municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats is hanging fire.

Facing a tough time amid the pandemic, many disabled persons are waiting for the government’s attention and demand that vacancies be filled at the earliest. The posts of clerks, linemen, pump operators, peons, safai karamcharis, beldar and others are to be filled by the Department of Local Government.

Goldy Vig, a polio patient, had filed the job application in June 2019 but is still waiting for the recruitment drive to take place. “I have done MA in Hindi. My father is no more and mother is a heart patient. I am unemployed at present. It is difficult to meet the daily needs in these times. I had applied for the job when the Department of Local Government invited applications in 2019 but vacancies have not been filled till date,” she said.

Satish Thaman, a member of Ludhiana West Grievances Redressal Committee, said: “The Department of Local Government had invited applications for 350 posts of different categories for disabled persons but these posts are not being filled. A number of people brought this matter to my notice. Now, I have written to the Chief Minister in this regard and requested him to order the department concerned to fill the vacancies at the earliest.”

A recruitment camp was supposed to be held at the office of Department of Local Government in March but was postponed till further orders due to Covid lockdown.

Rakesh Garg, Joint Director of Department of Local Government, said they would take a decision soon to start the recruitment process to fill the vacancies for disabled persons.