Job opportunities dwindling in industrialised Gujarat  Premium

Unemployment crisis in Gujarat exposed as job seekers overwhelm hotel interviews, raising questions about the "Gujarat model" of development.

On July 9, a crowd of more than 1500 youngsters turned up in Gujarat’s Ankleshwar after they learnt of opportunities at a private firm, which had organised walk in interviews for 10 vacancies at a hotel. The overcrowding of job aspirants almost went out of control and a hotel railing broke due to extreme pressure from the applicants. Fortunately, a stampede like situation was avoided with minor injuries to a few applicants.

The video of applicants jostling and pushing to get inside the hotel went viral on social media platforms exposing the ground situation about employment in Gujarat, one of the most industrialised states with a large industrial base.

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The principal opposition Congress party shared the video of the overcrowding, taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the “Gujarat model” over the incident.

“Gujarat model of Narendra Modi. A huge crowd of unemployed people gathered for a hotel job in Bharuch, Gujarat. The situation became such that the railing of the hotel broke and the Gujarat model was exposed. Narendra Modi is imposing this model of unemployment on the entire country,” said the Congress in an X post.

The incident in Ankleshwar, a hub of more than 1000 chemical and pharmaceutical factories, brought into sharp focus, the government’s much touted claim of being the state with the least unemployed in India and the largest job producer.

To be sure, Gujarat is among the states with the lowest unemployment rates, ranking fourth from the bottom across all age groups for 2022-23. Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Labour and Employment shared data on unemployment rates in India in a written response to the Lok Sabha recently.