Police train guns on joblessness, bring smiles on several faces

NEW DELHI: Zubeida never thought of making it big in life. Daughter of a truck driver, the 19-year-old’s family was planning to get her married in a year or two. Zubeida, however, wanted to work but could not get a job for lack of vocational training. The family did not have the finances to support her in achieving her dream.

Thanks to

Delhi Police’s initiative

, Zubeida today works with a leading hospital chain as a receptionist.

Naveen’s story is somewhat similar. After passing his Class XII, he had been idling away unemployed though, the family income was barely enough for two meals. Today, Naveen works as a data entry operator in Gurgaon after undergoing a six-month training organised at Kirti Nagar police station.

Zubeida and Naveen were among the 102 young people that Delhi Police helped find jobs with leading multi-national firms like Burger King, Sodexo, Compass, Lemon Tree and Sarovar Hotels on Sunday.

The initiative, given top priority by police commissioner Amulya Patnaik, is helping 750 youths undergo various training courses at eight police stations in Delhi.

“Apart from giving them employment, the initiative has also helped bring people closer to the police force. People now don’t fear coming to police stations and treat policemen like friends. It’s a great achievement. Some of those who have worked hard and found employment belong to very poor families,” said special commissioner Sanjay Beniwal.

Sunday’s ‘job fair’ had over a dozen firms from the hospitality sector rolling out job offers. Susheel, a youth from a JJ cluster in Kirti Nagar, said: “My family had no money to support my higher education. However, Delhi Police gave us the opportunity to undergo training for which any institute would have charged lakhs. SHO Anil Sharma had scanned the entire colony to identify underprivileged youths in our locality. It is like a dream come true.”

Union home minister Rajnath Singh and Patnaik had launched the programme on August 29 at an event in Vigyan Bhawan. Beniwal, who is overseeing the project, said that police had selected around 2,200 youths for training, which took place in lots.

The initiative was in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry and Tourism and Hospitality Skill Council. Next in line is employment in the beauty and wellness industry, computers and desktop publishing, refrigeration, etc.

“Such a project will not only curb crime and drug problems but also ensure that the country produces skilled manpower,” added Beniwal.

(Some names have been changed to respect privacy)