Date:08/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/08/stories/2008110855691300.htm

National

Railways defer examinations

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Railways have put on hold their recruitment process across the country till after “normalisation of the situation,” as tension prevails in the wake of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s attack on north Indian job aspirants in Mumbai last month.

The Patna and Muzaffarpur railway recruitment boards deferred the examinations scheduled to be held in Patna centres on Friday (November 7). There 5,586 candidates were expected to take examinations to fill 113 vacancies in the grade of junior engineers, pharmacists and staff nurse.

The Ranchi board, covering Jharkhand and Orissa, also cancelled the examinations planned to be held in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bhubaneswar, Rourkela and Cuttack on Friday. As many as 93,682 candidates had applied for 263 posts of assistant station master.

Pointing to the prevailing anger against what happened in Mumbai, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad feared retribution by locals, by halting trains and attacking job aspirants coming from Maharashtra. He said the examinations would not be held until the situation calmed down and proper security arrangement was made in all States. The Railways have written to all State governments to provide security to trains carrying candidates and at examination centres. Mr. Prasad said a re-examination for the candidates affected by MNS vandalism would be conducted in due course. It could be held in Maharashtra itself if the State government ensured safety of all the candidates.