11000 unemployed doctors, engineers in JK

Srinagar, Sep 30: More than 11,000 doctors, engineers, agriculture and forestry graduates are awaiting jobs in Jammu and Kashmir despite the employment of about 40,000 youth under different categories since the Congress-led government assumed office in the state.

Officials said 360 unemployed youth were appointed on the recommendations of Public Service Commission (PSC) and 3881 on Service Selection Board (SSB) in different government departments since November 2005 when Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad assumed office as the Chief Minister of state.

Similarly, 5099 youth were appointed in police department while 885 Daily Rated Workers (DRW) were regularised. Altogether, 3813 Rehbar-e-Taleem were regularised as general line teachers in the state during the same period, the officials said.

They said 4477 were appointed on contract basis while 1719 appointments were made on compensate grounds under SRO-43.

Under the Tehbar-e-Zirat, Rehbar-e-Taleem, Anganari workers and Angawari helpers, a total of 39417 youth were appointed in the state.

The officials said Kashmir has 183 unemployed doctors while Jammu division has just 72. However, there were no unemployed doctors in Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh region.

Baramulla in north Kashmir has the highest 67 unemployed doctors followed by Anantnag (south) 55 and Srinagar 24.

Official figures said, ''There are 5179 unemployed engineers in Jammu division with 4419 in its districts alone while the number of such engineers in Kashmir valley is 2913.'' There are also 540 agriculture, 150 forestry, 1337 ITI, 1090 B Ed and 100 M Ed unemployed youth in the state.

The official figures available about the regularisation of Daily Rated Workers in different departments in Jammu division and Kashmir show that against the regularisation of 320 DRW in Social Forestry in Jammu division, only two were regularised in Kashmir valley.

Similarly in the Public Worker Department, 147 were regularised in Kashmir against two in Jammu division.

Again in the Public Health Engineering, 178 were regularised in Jammu against 39 in Kashmir, forest department 41 in Jammu and 67 in Kashmir, Agriculture 85 in Jammu and 111 in Kashmir and Irrigation and Flood control has 28 in Jammu and 60 in Kashmir.

UNI