Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 18 December 2024
The Chairman of the ANTCC Campaign Committee, Mr. TSG Bhasker, has written a letter to the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of A&N Islands and the Chief Engineer of the APWD, urging their attention towards the growing unemployment among engineering graduates, particularly in the field of civil engineering in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In the letter, Mr. Bhasker stated, “While our region is home to numerous talented and qualified engineering professionals, the lack of opportunities in the public sector, especially within the Andaman Public Works Department (APWD), has created a significant employment crisis for Civil Diploma holders and Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) graduates.”
He added that one of the primary issues exacerbating this problem is the current tendering process followed by the Andaman Public Works Department, which denies the eligibility of local Civil Diploma holders and B.E. Civil graduates to participate in the tender bidding process. This has resulted in qualified civil engineers being unable to secure work opportunities in government projects.
“It is increasingly evident that the tendering process often fails to consider the capacity and expertise of local engineers who are well-versed with the unique geographical, environmental, and infrastructural challenges of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” stated Mr. Bhasker.
He also alleged that the A&N Administration has designed a tendering system that often excludes local people in favour of larger, often out-of-region contractors. This has led to a situation where the employment potential for local youth remains largely untapped.
Hence, he requested the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Engineer of APWD to include local Civil Diploma and local Civil Engineering qualifications in the tendering process, so that local unemployed youth holding Civil Diplomas and Engineering degrees can apply.