Over 9,000 candidates, including highly qualified graduates, postgraduates, engineers, and MBAs, turned up on December 16, 2025, at Sambalpur’s Jamadarpali airstrip for a written exam to fill just 187 home guard posts across 24 police stations in Odisha, starkly exposing the state’s deepening youth unemployment crisis amid robust police security with drones and hundreds of personnel ensuring order.
Massive Turnout Signals Desperate Job Hunt
The Sambalpur Police Department’s recruitment drive drew an overwhelming response, with reports varying from nearly 8,000 to over 10,000 aspirants converging on the unconventional venue of Jamadarpali airstrip for the written examination.
These 187 home guard positions, spread across 24 police stations in the district, demand minimal Class V qualifications and offer a modest daily wage of Rs 612 for duties like driving official vehicles, handling basic computer operations, and supporting police tasks.
The exam itself comprised a 30-minute paragraph-writing section worth 20 marks and a one-hour general knowledge paper worth 30 marks, yet the sheer volume of applicants many overqualified painted a vivid picture of economic distress.
Sambalpur SP Mukesh Bhamoo personally supervised the event, deploying three additional Superintendents of Police, 24 inspectors, 86 sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, over 100 home guards, traffic personnel, and even drones for aerial monitoring to prevent any untoward incidents.
An Additional SP remarked to media, “Around ten thousand applied online, and nearly eight thousand appeared, reflecting the gravity of unemployment here.”
District officials noted that applications had been accepted from November 13 to 22, 2025, with physical efficiency tests, skill evaluations for drivers and computer operators, and document verification slated to follow soon, and results anticipated in the last week of December.
Airstrip Chaos-Turned-Order Highlights Human Stories
From as early as 6 am, job seekers queued patiently, entering the vast open airstrip from 9 am onwards, with question papers distributed at 10:30 am under strict protocols that included identity checks and frisking to maintain discipline.
The unusual choice of an airstrip accommodated the massive crowd, transforming the normally quiet expanse into a bustling exam hall buzzing with anticipation and quiet desperation.
Aspirants shared poignant tales: a postgraduate from a nearby village confessed, “I’ve cleared several competitive exams but found no openings; this is my best shot to support my family,” while an engineer-turned-applicant lamented years of fruitless searches amid Odisha’s sluggish job market.
Many had travelled from neighbouring districts, enduring overnight journeys, underscoring how even entry-level roles spark fierce competition in rural belts where youth unemployment lingers above 13%.
The elaborate security not only averted stampedes but also symbolised the administration’s recognition of the event’s scale, with no major disruptions reported despite the numbers.
Odisha’s Unemployment Crisis in Broader Context
This Sambalpur spectacle mirrors a troubling pattern across Odisha, where recent recruitments have seen similar overcrowding such as 15,000 applicants vying for just 100 posts in Bhubaneswar last month amid stagnant industrial expansion and persistent skill mismatches.
State data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) pegs overall unemployment at around 13.7%, but rural youth face even steeper odds, exacerbated by limited private sector growth despite national initiatives like Skill India and MUDRA loans.
Experts attribute the surge to factors including agricultural distress, inadequate vocational training, and a mismatch between education outputs and market needs, forcing MBAs and graduates into queues for semi-skilled jobs.
In Sambalpur, a district reliant on mining and agriculture, the home guard vacancies initially advertised with clear eligibility like 1,000m run in 6 minutes for males, long jump, and physical measurements became a beacon for the underemployed.
Government responses have included promises of more recruitments, but critics argue for holistic reforms like agro-based industries and digital skilling to address root causes, especially as Odisha’s economy grows yet leaves youth behind.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Scenes like Sambalpur’s airstrip evoke profound empathy for Odisha’s resilient youth, whose qualifications clash painfully with opportunity scarcity, compelling a collective call for kind-hearted, dialogue-focused policies that prioritise inclusive job creation, empathetic skill programmes, and harmonious economic growth fostering coexistence for all.
The Logical Indian stands firmly for positive change through equitable reforms, urging governments, industries, and communities to bridge this chasm with sustainable livelihoods that honour every aspirant’s dignity and potential.
