32k appear for 53 Class-IV jobs in Odisha

About 32,000 job aspirants from across Odisha appeared for a Class-IV (peons, orderlies, night watchmen and sweepers) recruitment exam to fill just 53 vacancies at the Barabati Cricket Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.

Youths were seen standing in serpentine queues to get entry into the stadium. The police had made adequate security arrangements to control the crowd and maintain law and order, similar to what they do on the day of a international cricket match.Sources said applications were sought for 53 Class-IV posts in lower courts of Cuttack district on contract basis in July. The authorities decided to book the cricket stadium and conduct the written test there as they, to their surprise, received more than 31,673 applications for the jobs. 

The applicants include matriculates, graduates, post graduates and even unemployed engineers, though the minimum qualification was class VIII pass. The jobs carry monthly salaries ranging between Rs 4,750 to Rs 14,680. 
The youths sat in the gallery and wrote answers after questions were announced on a mike. The test was scheduled to start at 11 am but applicants had to queue up in front of the stadium from 8 am. It took nearly four hours for them to enter the stadium and get out of it for a one hour written test. The police had a tough time controlling the crowd. “We were not expecting this type of a rush. It was just like an international cricket match,” said a senior police officer. Nearly 12 platoons of the police had to be deployed to manage law and order.