BANGALORE: It was a rude awakening when municipality in Amroha announced 114 posts of 'safai karamchari' (sweepers) and 19,000 applications arrived in response mostly from BTechs, BSc, MBAs, MA, and BA. However, the number of applications was not as much as expected by the Amroha Nagar Palika.  The local sweepers have initiated a protest to avail these posts only to the valmiki community. Presently, the process is kept on hold by the state government, reports ET.

The surprising number of applications from over-eligible applicants for a post that doesn’t even require any educational background has overwhelmed the municipal officials. "The process of uploading application forms for all 114 posts is still going on and we have uploaded 5,000 of the 19,000 received. Most are graduates, postgraduates, BTechs and even MBAs," said Faiz Alam, Amroha Nagar Palika office superintendent.

The job includes manual labor like street cleaning using brooms, drainage and sewer lines maintenance. The applicants will be intimated about the interview and the selected candidates will land themselves a job paying 17,000 per month.

"Our office has received a letter from the chief secretary of the state urban development department, Shri Prakash, to put the process on hold on the orders of the chief minister," said Afsar Parvez, chairman of the civic body.

"The valmiki community has protested against the recruitment process because a large number of graduates and postgraduates from other castes have applied for the post of sweepers. A delegation from the community met with the chief minister and demanded the jobs should be reserved for members of their community alone," Parvez added.

On the other hand, over qualified applicants for the job are waiting for their interview calls. "I have been jobless since I finished college in 2014. So when I heard about openings as sweepers, I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to earn a living and help my family," said Nakul Singh of Dhera village, BSc honors Mathematics.

"Irrespective of the kind of job, we need to have some kind of secured future and a government job is better than working for private firms. Even sweepers in our village have a good standard of living and send their children to English-medium schools," said another applicant, Shamshad Ahmed Saifi of Makhdoompur village, BCom final year student.

Read More: 5 Prospective Job Roles For Girls in Bollywood Than Acting
10 Skills You'll Need to Master to Land a Job in 2016