PATNA: Bihar will soon recruit women home guards who will be deployed in rural areas. The process of recruitment has begun and forms are being submitted in each district.
A total of 15,820 home guard jawans will be recruited. "We have reserved 10% posts for women," principal secretary, home, Amir Subhani, told TOI.
Under the plan, 1,582 women home guards will be recruited, of which 1,364 will be posted in rural areas and 218 in urban areas. DGP Neelmani said earlier some women home guards used to be deployed in urban areas. "But this will be the first time when women home guards will be posted in the countryside," he added.
In Patna district alone, there are 2,772 vacancies of home guards. As many as 277 of these posts will be reserved for women. While 215 of them will be sent to rural areas, 62 will be posted in urban areas.
A large number of young women are swarming the district collectorates and police lines to submit their forms. At several places, the rush of applicants was so high last Saturday that several candidates fainted due to heat. Subhani said in view of the big crowd of applicants, the last date for submission of forms has been extended.
It is expected that the qualifying examination, including various physical tests, would be conducted in September. The candidates, including women, will have to pass the preliminary sprint test to qualify for another set of physical tests. No recruitment of home guards has been made in the state since 2008. In 2009, there was 4,698 vacancies, and though the recruitment process was initiated it could not be completed.
Police sources said the candidates who had submitted forms in 2009 and again this time would be given chance twice.
Neelmani said this exercise would help in women's empowerment. He said Bihar was the first state which established all-woman police stations at several places and all of them were running smoothly. An all-woman battalion of Bihar Military Police has already been created which is stationed at Sasaram. It comprises 700 personnel, besides commandants and DSPs.
"By establishing police stations and creating separate battalion exclusively for women, and now by raising women home guard force, the police are helping in women empowerment," said Neelmani while referring to greater empowerment of women through reservation in panchayat and local bodies. The DGP said extra facilities would be provided to the women home guard jawans.
