Hundreds of Railway Job Aspirants Protest Against Notification of Only 5,600 Vacancies of Loco Pilots

Patna: Hundreds of railway loco pilot job aspirants took to the streets and staged a protest on Tuesday against the notification of only 5600 vacancies of loco pilots and demanded an increase in the number of loco pilot vacancies.

These railway job aspirants staged protests at different places, including Kargil Chowk near Gandhi Maidan, Ashok Rajpath, Bikhna Pahari and Langar Toli in the heart of Patna.

As the protesters tried to cross police barricades, they were stopped, which led to clashes with the police. Later, police lathicharged to disperse the protesters.

Angry over the official notification of the Indian Railway Recruitment Board 2024, which is seeking applications for the 5696 post of assistant loco pilot, railway job aspirants staged a protest on January 30, the second consecutive day. They protested here on Monday (January 29) as well.

According to police officials, more than 10,000 railway job aspirants, mostly youth preparing for loco pilot jobs, took part in the protest. They expressed unhappiness over less than 6000 vacancies for the post of assistant loco pilot.

"Railway has issued notification of 5696 posts of assistant loco pilot after a gap of six years. Thousands of us have been waiting for a good number of vacancies this time, but the Railway disappointed us. It is a betrayal to youths seeking jobs in Railway," Mukesh Ranjan, one of the protestors, told NewsClick.

Another protestor, Sanjit Kumar, told NewsClick that railway notification for a few thousand (5600) loco pilots shocked all those preparing for the competition.

Ranjan and Kumar said the last railway notification for loco pilot jobs was issued in 2018. After that, there was no notification for loco pilots.

"We were hopeful that Railway will come out with more than 60,0000 to 70,000 loco pilot posts. But it is less than 6,000," Kumar said.

Protests by railway job aspirants are likely to spread across Bihar in a day or two to pressure the BJP-led central government to increase the number of posts for recruitment.

Patna witnessed the first protest by railway job aspirants after BJP and JD-U joined hands, and a new NDA government led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was formed on Sunday.

Ironically, ruling BJP and JD-U leaders are busy lobbying here to ensure their berth in the cabinet, which is set to expand.

In Patna, youths from across Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh have been preparing for railway jobs, so they have joined different coachings.

Interestingly, after Nitish Kumar resigned as CM of Mahagathbandhan and ended his party JD-U's alliance with Mahagathbandhan, former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on January 28 reminded BJP leaders that the Mahagathbandhan government provided 4.5 lakh government jobs in its 17 months rule in the state.