‘Unemployed’ lab technician seeks sweeper job at former workplace in Pulwama

Srinagar, Apr 22: After allegedly working as a lab technician at a primary health centre in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, a man has applied for a sweeper job in the same facility.

The matter was highlighted by PDP spokesperson Mohit Bhan, who shared the man’s application letter with the health centre through his Facebook account while withholding the person’s identity.

In the letter, the man — identifying himself as a resident of Beighpora Village in Pulwama district — said he was seeking a sweeper job at the primary health centre in Awantipora after having worked there as a lab technician.

The letter did not mention the reason for leaving the job or whether he was dismissed.
“Respected Sir/Madam, I am (name redacted), a resident of Baighpora Awantipora, Pulwama. I have previously worked at Primary Health Centre Awantipora as a lab technician,” the unidentified person said.

“I came to know that recruitment on an outsourced basis is being conducted for sweeper posts at PHC Awantipora. As I am currently unemployed and in need of work, I humbly request you to kindly consider my case for this opportunity,” the person said in the letter.

Reacting to the man’s plea, Bhan, on Facebook, said that the letter “shattered” him.

“A trained lab technician forced to plead for an ‘outsourced sweeper’ job just to survive. To those in power who promised one lakh jobs and more, is this your delivery? This is not just one story; it’s a collapse of accountability,” the PDP spokesperson said.

Asserting that the youth of Jammu and Kashmir “deserve dignity, not desperation, he asked, “How long will this continue?”

On March 31 this year, the Jammu and Kashmir government acknowledged in the assembly that the Union Territory’s unemployment rate stands at 6.7 per cent, nearly double the national average of 3.5 per cent. (PTI)