?Bajra? plays a major role here

WITH THE announcement of recruitment of over 2.000 safai karmacharis in the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC), ?bajra? (bribe) has come to play a major role in the appointment. Most of the applicants are leaving no stone unturned to get appointed as safai karmachari.

WITH THE announcement of recruitment of over 2.000 safai karmacharis in the Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC), ‘bajra’ (bribe) has come to play a major role in the appointment. Most of the applicants are leaving no stone unturned to get appointed as safai karmachari.

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Taking advantage of the eagerness of the applicants, a number of middlemen are prowling the KMC campus, tapping innocent applicants and assuring appointment on payment of an amount between Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000.

Several applicants have even paid half of the amount of the bribe to mediators on assurance of appointment. The balance will be paid after the appointment.

Those who are financially hard up have even borrowed money at a high rate of interest to pay bribe. They hope to repay the loan within two months of their appointment.

Upper caste candidates have also staked their claim. According to them, after appointment they will hire one or two lads for cleaning-operations on a nominal payment and pay them out of their own salary, taking the safai naik of the area into confidence.They said even today there were a few safai karmacharis belonging to upper castes who had in turn engaged safai karmacharis on contract and paid their wages from their own salary so that they could pursue their traditional or family business.

Since the interview for the posts of safai karmachari is scheduled for Tuesday (May 30), the applicants were seen identifying the most powerful “leader’ or “mediator” who could give cent per cent guarantee of getting them appointed by accepting “suvidha shulk”.