Srinagar, Feb 12: Sameer Ahmad, 32, after completing his M.Sc in 2013, struggled for five years to get a job.
Facing social stigma coupled with depression, the resident of Baramulla borrowed money to invest in the tourism sector. But due to the uncertain situation he lost all the investment leaving him financially broke.
Left in the lurch, he registered himself with the district employment office hoping to find a government job. “I lost all my investment in tourism business. I registered with district employment office two years ago. But so far no opportunity has come my way,” he said.
Ahmad is one among lakhs of unemployed youth who have registered themselves with different employment offices for jobs.
Official figures reveal that as many as 2.5 lakh educated unemployed youth including 1.5 lakh postgraduates have registered themselves with different district employment and counseling centers last year.
This is precisely because the government’s employment generating schemes have failed to yield results in Jammu and Kashmir. The number of beneficiaries under these schemes has dropped by 50 percent last year compared to 2018.
Sample this: Under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), the jobs generated in the Union Territory in 2019 was 17488. It is less than 70 per cent of 60232 jobs generated through this scheme in J&K in 2018.
Similarly, the employment generated under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) has dropped by 50 per cent in 2019. As per the figures, 84 educated youth have been employed under this scheme last year compared to 115 in the year 2018.
Union Ministry for Rural Development’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) has also recorded 50 per cent decline in 2019 compared to 2018. As per the figures, 3.69 crore person days of work were generated under this scheme in 2018 which in 2019 dropped to 1.53 crore person days.
Union Ministry for Labour and Employment document accessed by The Kashmir Monitor reveals that the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir stands at 5.3 per cent . In Jammu and Kashmir, urban unemployment rate stands at 10.0 per cent while as the rural unemployment is 4.2 per cent.
