And, LMC Safai test scares 12 away

ABOUT 12 out of 20 candidates for safai karamchari’s post ran away when they were asked to clean a nullah. “It seems hesitancy in performing cleaning work is still hurting the general and backward class candidates. They were asked to clean the New Hyderabad Nullah by Nagar Swasthya Adhikari, zonal officers and health supervisors. But they ran away,” said zonal health officer PK Sharma.

Nagar Swasthya Adhikari BBS Rathore said, “The safai workers are the functional unit of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation. So, we have to select them after testing them in the field. Those 12 people who ran away must have been unfit for the job. The rest of the 8 people who entered the nullah and cleaned it have been called for the final interview on Thursday.”

Eight candidates qualified for the final interview are Brijesh Mishra, Afzal Ahmed, Satish Kumar Yadav, Umesh Verma, Ajai Verma, Girish Verma, Shiv Sahai Kashyap and Mukesh Kumar Kannaujia.

“No profession is big or small. If I have applied for a sweeper’s job, then I will have to step into the nullah. I am not ashamed of doing this job. It’s not a crime to earn your livelihood by performing safai work. I am proud of coming here,” said a candidate from upper caste.  Although he admitted his decision of applying for the job met with a stiff resistance in his family but his determination for the job made his family members change the opinion regarding his job application.

Additional municipal commissioner Santosh Kumar, Mukhya Nagar Swasthya Adhikari BP Bhatnagar, Nagar Swasthya Adhikari SBS Rathore along with ACM Bhishm Lal, and ARCS Narad Yadav were present during the test.

Gone are the days when the safai work was an exclusive domain of a particular community. Today even the upper caste people are willing to take up the job, if one goes by the applications being received by the LMC for the post of Safai worker by the upper caste candidates. According to the recent directives, the reservation rules would be applied to the appointment of safai workers in the LMC too. It means the candidates of general category have a good chance of qualifying for the post. As only 14 general candidates, 12 OBC candidates and 2 candidates from the minority community have applied for the job.

At 8.00 am on Wednesday morning 20 candidates out of 28 general and OBC candidates turned out for the physical test at Lakshman Mela ground.