More jobs, lower crime rate: What Delhi’s youth seeks from its MPs

By Saurav Gupta and Kushan Niyogi

Ahead of voting for the Lok Sabha elections in the national capital, which is slated to take place on May 25, a major worry for the city’s youth is unemployment. Even after earning degrees, they cannot get jobs, and this has led to a surge in crime rate in the Capital.

Rahul Batra (24), a resident of Rohini Sector 5, said, “In a country where 1.2 million people enter the workforce every year, the pace of job creation is far below what is needed in today’s time.

“The government is unable to provide employment to the youth of the nation like they promised in previous elections. We are working hard to prepare for the exams but the problem is that there are not enough vacancies to utilise this huge workforce,” he said.

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Sameer Khan (29), a resident of Karol Bagh, said that unemployment has been a major concern in our country for decades.

“It is defined as a situation in which a person is capable of working both physically and mentally at an existing wage rate, but does not get a job,” he said.

“All the fields are overcrowded; there are not many jobs for aspirants in the real world. There is cut-throat competition,” he said.

Criticising the current education system of India, Shashwat Singh (26) said that the present system of India is liable and responsible for the surging unemployment in the country.

“The education system of India has plenty of loopholes and it is confined within the four walls of the classroom. The system is not job oriented; it is degree oriented. All the institutions are just making money and they don’t care about the students,” said Singh.

Prateek Tiwari (27), a resident of Old Rajendra Nagar, also said that unemployment is the major issue among youth in the Capital ahead of the polls.

“There is a lack of reforms along with the poverty, and over-population has aggravated the current unemployment situation in the city.

“The government needs to focus on enriching the younger generation of the city with relevant and appropriate industrial skills and training. Investment in human resources will pave the path for a prosperous and developed nation. It will eradicate unemployment and trigger inclusive growth of the country,” Tiwari added further.

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On the other hand, multiple localities of North East Delhi constituency have also been reeling under the oppression of a lack of employment opportunities. According to residents, unemployment has led many young people in the area to opt for a life of crime.

Seema Mandal, a resident of Karawal Nagar, stated that the constituency has not witnessed any major increase in the opportunities available to the youth, especially regarding employment.

“Most of the labourers in the nearest market are all 18-19 years old. They are all residents here but it is only because of a lack of more dignified working opportunities that they have had to become manual labourers. Apart from this and becoming snatchers or thieves, what other choice do they have?” she said.

Akash Yadav, a 27-year-old resident of Seemapuri who drives his bike for Rapido, said that he had seen multiple instances of his friends forming snatching gangs to “put food on the table”.

“I have also been without a job for the past two years but it was mostly out of choice since I had left my job at a call centre. Even for that, I had to travel to Noida every day since there are no jobs here. This was also the one reason why I had to leave my job. When I took up the job there, many of my friends had taken to snatching mobile phones and similar knick knacks to sell them at the Chor Bazaar (near Red Fort),” he said.

Similarly, Aftab Ansari, a resident of Kartar Nagar, highlighted that the market area has also turned into a hub of young people who huddle up at night to take drugs.

“Smack peddling and consumption is a major issue among the youth here. Whenever they go out to sell whatever they have stolen, they return with their supply of drugs here to sniff. Most of these young people are school dropouts or have just graduated from school. None of them can go for higher education because there are no opportunities here. A life of crime is all that they can go for,” he said.

Presently, North East Delhi only has two colleges — Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta Institute of Technology & Management at Shastri Park, and Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College (University of Delhi) at Yamuna Vihar. On the other hand, the constituency is home to a total of 136 schools, according to the Department of Education.

During his campaign, Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar had promised to bring about better educational opportunities for the youth in the constituency, also promising to develop infrastructure to provide employment to them.

“We will ensure that the youth here get proper education to make them employable. If brought to power, we will also waive student loans that somebody may have taken to pursue higher studies. Also, to ensure that the youth do not go ahead with a life of crime, I will work with the law enforcement agencies here to teach them and also help reduce the rate here,” he said.

The city is set to witness a fierce battle between the opposition INDIA bloc and the BJP. The voting in the city is scheduled for May 25, while the result will be announced on June 4.