A youth ended his life by jumping from hillock in Shimla. Deceased is identified as Prince and in his suicide note he blamed unemployment for his suicide.
CPIM Shimla has deeply mourned the death of a youth. This is probably the first death in the state that has taken place because of the growing menace of unemployment. The CPIM has stated after a farmer suicide in Hamirpur district, this is the first suicide for employment. The state government must learn some lessons and stop singing the rhetoric of getting awards for development in the state. The government must owe its responsibility of supporting two crucial sectors of development, agriculture and horticulture that in fact provides largest employment in the state.
However the government has abdicated from its responsibility and has even scuttled the budget on these two important sectors. Further the party has stated, with a shift in education sector where the higher education has virtually been handed over to private enterprises the cost of attaining such education too has reached alarming proportions. In return a commensurate job is sought both by the parents and their wards. Whereas the reality is altogether different. The government has further restricted the avenues of employment. The recent struggle of IT teachers, Para and PAT teachers is a pointer towards the growing apathy of government in this sector. This has made the unemployment situation more precarious.
The party has demanded a white paper from the government on the condition of employment in the state. It is just playing jugglery with the statistics whereas a different picture exists on the ground. The government must face the reality and must act in the interests of the people and move away from the neo liberal policies for which state investment is the greatest anathema.
