On Saturday, the unemployed dental surgeons from Jammu and Kashmir staged a protest in Srinagar expressing anger over the non-advertisement of posts for the last 17 years and urged the government to take immediate action on the issue. The accused the respective governments of making false promises without any concrete action to help them get jobs asking the present government to adverise the posts so that they can apply and the deserving ones can earn a dignified livelihood. It is pertinent to mention here that the unemployed dental surgeons in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) face a protracted crisis stemming from a complete freeze on government recruitment since 2008, leaving thousands of qualified professionals without public sector jobs while as there is a critical shortage of dental services in the region.
Reports suggest that from 6,000 to over 8,000 Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) and Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) graduates are currently jobless in J&K. This includes around 300 new graduates annually (about 200 from local institutions and 100 from outside). More than a thousand individuals have become crossed the eligibility age limit for government jobs without ever having a chance to apply. Reports further suggest that there are approximately 550 sanctioned positions for dental surgeons in government hospitals and health centers that remain unfilled.
One wonders that despite the posts being vacant, why the respective governments are not advertising the same thus providing the dental surgeons a chance to get jobs. While tall claims are being made about the prioritization of health sector in Jammu and Kashmir, the vacancies in health institutions mock at such claims. The unemployed dental surgeons, who frequently take to streets are within their rights to do so. If the posts are vacant, why these are not being filled?
The National Conference (NC), that is in power here had promised time-bound in its election manifesto. The government is going to complete one year but nothing of the sort has been done. While the dental surgeons continue protests both in Kashmir and Jammu, there is no word from the government about the issue. The government of the day should listen to these agitating unemployed dentists and come up with a policy statements. If fresh posts are not being created, let the posts already lying vacant be filled.
The government need to take the issuer of unemployment seriously. Posts are lying vacant in almost every department but the freeze continues and no posts are being advertised. During elections tall claims were made but fact of the matter is that on unemployment front, nothing has been delivered.