Like every year, this year too the Pune division of the Forest Department's recruitment drive to fill the posts of forest guards has received considerable response. The drive is being held on Taljai Hills.

For 59 posts, about 4,500 applications were received. B N Kadam, assistant conservator of forests (Pune) said, "We had published an advertisement in newspapers a few months ago. There are about 59 vacant positions to be filled, while the number of young men and ladies who had applied for the job is about 4,500."

He said, "Of the total number of applications, about 30 per cent remained absent, while 20 per cent were not eligible for the post. So the remaining 50 per cent are giving interviews."

The candidates have to complete a round of 5 km on track within 30 minutes after which, they would be eligible for written tests and further examination.

Prabhakar Kukdolkar, a senior forest official, said, "Every year, the response to the post of forest guards is quite good, but sadly very few applicants are aware of what the job profile of a forest guard is what are the requirements for the job."

However, even as the recruitment drive is on, the venue of the physical tests has received objections from enviromentalists. Objecting to the physical tests being conducted on the hills, environmental activist Dilip Dakhve says the spot is an eco-sensitive zone. "The forest authorities should conduct the tests elsewhere, as Taljai Hill serves as an abode to various birds and animals and this sudden presence of so many people might scare them away."

... contd.