The plight of unemployed engineers came to the fore once again on Wednesday, when the canteen of the MLA Hostel in Nagpur turned into a lottery centre for survival. The occasion was the distribution of government development works reserved for jobless engineers. But against 101 available works, nearly 650 unemployed engineers showed up, forcing authorities to hold a lottery. The result — 549 engineers had to return empty-handed.
As per Public Works Department (PWD) rules, 33% of all development works must be reserved for unemployed engineers, and a similar share is mandated for cooperative societies.
The remaining works are allotted through open tendering. Against this backdrop, a lottery was organised at 3 pm on Wednesday in the MLA Hostel to allocate 91 works. However, the overwhelming response led officials to add 10 more, making it 101. Even then, hundreds were left disappointed.
Shockingly, the lottery was conducted without the presence of senior officials. The Superintendent Engineer, Executive Engineer, and Deputy Engineer all avoided the event, sending representatives instead. “This is an insult to unemployed engineers,” fumed Rakesh Asati of the Indian Unemployed Engineers’ Association, adding that the system has become nothing less than a cruel mockery.
The situation turned chaotic as the canteen, with a capacity of 300, was packed with over 650 engineers.
Only 30% Payment
Many engineers complained that bills for last year’s allotted works remain unpaid. Barely 30% of dues have been cleared, yet desperate for survival, they still turned up hoping for fresh assignments.
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