Demanding to raise the age limit in the Government services from 32 years to 42, hundreds of youth Congress activists marched to the Raj Bhavan on Thursday carrying a 200-meter-long banner on their heads.
The unique demonstration led by State Youth Congress president Dr Smruti Ranjan Lenka submitted a memorandum to the Governor.
Lenka said unemployment has reached an acute stage and the youths are living with an uncertain future in the State as no remedial measures have been taken during the last 21 years of the Naveen Patnaik Government.It has been observed that the regular examinations which are supposed to be conducted by the Odisha Public Services Commission (OPSC), Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC), Odisha Staff Selection Commission(OSSC) and State Selection Board (SSB) to fill up vacant posts in the Government are not happening. “While youths are struggling hard to get Government jobs because of the age limitation, they are denied their legitimate rights and many talented students are denied job opportunity,” Lenka said. He added that while the age limit in Odisha is 32, it is 45 in Goa, 44 in Assam and Telangana, 42 in Andhra Pradesh while in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh it is 40 years. The delegation to the Raj Bhavan included Nlainikant Nayak, Gyan Ranjan Rour, Krushna Chandra Mophanty, Biswaranjan Das and Smruti Ranjan Mantri.