The Agnipath Army recruitment rally kickstarted at Indira Priyadarshini Stadium here on Sunday morning. The recruitment rally is being held for aspirants from Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Alluri Sitaramaraju, Anakapalli, Parvatipuram Manyam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Konaseema, Krishna, Eluru, Kakinada, and NTR district, and from the Union territory of Yanam (Puducherry).
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Around 60,000 candidates have applied for the recruitment rally, which will be held till August 31. Around 2,700 aspirants are believed to have attended the rally on the first day. From the second day, around 4,000 aspirants are expected to take part. Aspirants started arriving at the venue from Saturday evening. The district administration has imposed one-way traffic on the double road from Sea Horse Junction to Ramakrishna Bazaar Junction. The road beside the Indira Priyadarshini stadium was divided into blocks by arranging barricades and allotted to the candidates as ‘waiting area’. The candidates were allowed into the ground from the early hours in a phased manner.
Tight security
The entire stadium was taken into control by the army personnel. Strict watch was kept by the authorities and outsiders were not being allowed into the stadium. The army personnel have also arranged boards around the venue appealing to the aspirants not to fall a prey to touts.
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Assistant Commissioner of Police (Central Crime Station) Visakhapatnam City, S. Sravan Kumar, said that around 400 police personnel were deployed to assist the army officials for the smooth conduct of the programme. The police would also ensure there was no hindrance to the traffic in the surrounding areas, he said.
The first batch of Agniveers will be selected for five categories such as Agniveer General Duty, Agniveer Technical, Agniveer Clerk/Store Keeper Technical, Agniveer Tradesman 10th pass and Agniveer Tradesman 8th pass.
As part of the selection drive, a physical test is being conducted, which includes a 1.6-km run with obstacles within a specific time, and at least 10 pull-ups. It will be followed by a physical measurement test, a medical test and a written examination, apart from certificate verification, it is learnt.
Though there were not many issues, some of the candidates said that when they were made to wait at the barricades, there was some problem with no toilets available. However, after sometime, the aspirants were allowed into the stadium, where toilet facility was provided.
Some of the aspirants were disappointed after not being selected in the drive on Sunday morning. “I have been preparing for the recruitment rally since the last two years. However, I have failed in physical test. May be, I need to concentrate more and increase my preparation. I would take it as a lesson,” said a disappointed aspirant from Srikakulam district.