Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 21 Jul: A large number of unemployed youth under the banner of Uttarakhand Berozgar Sangh, today marched towards the Secretariat to press for their demands. Gathering first at Parade Ground, the protesters set out on foot but were stopped by police at Subhash Road before reaching the Secretariat, where barricades had been erected in advance. Angered by the obstruction, the youth sat on the road and launched a dharna, raising slogans against the government and demanding immediate action on pending recruitments.
The protesters called for the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission to release advertisements for AE and JE posts without delay, to begin long‑pending recruitment processes and to issue notifications for recruitment for 1,500 police posts and 400 women constable positions. They also demanded the announcement of a regular recruitment calendar to provide clarity to aspirants.
State president of the Sangh, Ram Kandwal, accused both the Centre and the state governments of deceiving the youth, recalling that a promise of 60,000 recruitments had been made but not fulfilled. He alleged that while candidates from other states are being brought in and given jobs, Uttarakhand’s own youth are struggling for employment. He said if recruitment notifications were issued in time, unemployed youth would not have been compelled to take to the streets.
The protesters further expressed anger over the repeated paper leak incidents in national and state examinations, including UKSSSC, and demanded accountability from the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, calling for his resignation on moral grounds. They alleged that the National Testing Agency (NTA) has failed to maintain confidentiality and fairness in examinations such as NEET, JEE and UGC‑NET, thereby eroding the trust of millions of students. They insisted on judicial review of NTA’s functioning, strict legal action against responsible officials, and justice for students and families affected by irregularities.
Interestingly, the Congress also lent support to this protest and several Congress leaders were also present at the rally. District Congress General Secretary Pradeep Kunwar said that during twelve years of BJP rule, paper leaks and recruitment scams have become routine, amounting to betrayal of the youth. He reiterated that the Education Minister should resign, warning that Youth Congress would intensify the agitation if demands were ignored. Congress Nagar President Kunwar Rawat added that repeated failures of the Centre and state governments are ruining the future of hardworking students, who prepare for examinations throughout the year only to face leaks at the time of testing.
At the same time, the Berozgar Sangh strongly condemned the lathi‑charge on students in Delhi yesterday and linked their protest in Dehradun to the wider national outrage. In Haldwani, Congress workers and students staged a demonstration at Buddha Park, raised slogans against the Centre and the Education Minister, burnt his effigy and demanded impartial investigation into examination irregularities. They accused the government of attempting to suppress the voice of students and insisted that the credibility of the education system must be restored through serious consideration of their demands.
