Police job seekers’ protest leads to chaos
TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE Aspirants protest against UP govt’s decision to make fresh recruitments of police constables
LUCKNOW: The UP government’s decision to make fresh recruitments of 42,000 police constables evoked protests here on Wednesday from over 5,000 aspirants awaiting results of a similar recruitment drive announced in 2015 by the previous regime.
The protesters demanded that results of the 2015 drive to recruit around 34,716 police constables be announced first and the new recruitment process be initiated after that.
The matter of the 2015 recruitment process is pending in high court after some aspirants alleged anomalies in the process.
The agitation led to a traffic nightmare for Lucknowites as roads in Hazratganj’s vicinity remained chock a block.
Protestors from different districts reached here and gathered at Charbagh since morning.
Heavy police force was deployed in Charbagh after a prior alert by the Intelligence unit.
A route chart was also prepared for the protestors to reach Laxman Mela ground for their protest. But the presence of thousands of agitators on city roads resulted in a major traffic chaos.
“The protestors reached the Laxman Mela ground from Charbagh via Burlington crossing, Latouche road, Qaiserbagh and Parivartan Chowk. Police authorities tried keeping the protestors away from Hazratganj, Station Road and Ashok Marg, but diversions on other routes following this protest led to traffic chaos in Hazratganj and its vicinity,” said a senior traffic police officer.
Apart from daily commuters, a large number of students returning home from school were also stranded for more than an hour at different roads in Hazratganj and surrounding areas.
Manager of an electrical goods company, Alok Shukla, said he had to struggle a lot reach his kid’s school on Shahnajaf Road due to the chaos.
He said it took over an hour to reach Shahnajaf Road from Yojna Bhawan.
GOVT’S CLARIFICATION
The state government clarified that the 42,000 posts of constables were separate from the 34,000 posts, matter of which is in court.
Spokesperson for the state government and health minister Siddharthnath Singh and principal secretary (home) Arvind Kumar in a press conference said on December 29, 2015 the police recruitment board had issued advertisement for 34,716 constable posts, of which 29,000 posts were for civil police and 5,716 for PAC.
This matter is in the court and there is a stay on declaration of the results. The judgement is reserved.
Singh said recruitments for 42,000 posts will start from January 22..
On being asked about the new DGP, Siddharthnath Singh said some procedures are being undertaken with the central government and once they are done the new DGP will join office.