‘Any eligible candidate has the right to apply’

Srinagar: Aspirant doctors who have applied for posts of lecturers in SKIMS Medical College Bemina smell foul in the administration’s move to conduct interviews in Jammu.

The aspirants said that if the posts were meant for SKIMS Bemina, why interviews should be held in Jammu.

“It will be first time in 16 years that interview has been shifted to Jammu on the behest of Director SKIMS whose close relative is an applicant,” a delegation of aspirants told KNS.

The SKIMS in a recent advertisement, SKIMS MC 02 of 2015 dated 16-05-2015 said that interviews for Advertisement Notice No 03 of 2013 dated 14-10-2013 and Notice 01 SKIMS MC of 2014 dated 25-02-2014 are will be held in Jammu.

“The interviews have been cancelled four times from the last several years as the Director’s relative was not eligible then,” they alleged.

They claimed despite deficiencies pointed out by Medical Council of India in Faculties of Preclinical departments like Biochemistry, Physiology and Pediatrics, the Director never bothered to fill these vacancies and went on making new advertisements to ensure his relative gets eligible for applying.

Director SKIMS Dr Showkat Ahmad Zargar dismissed these allegations made by the aspirants.

“The decision of holding interviews in Jammu has been made by the Chief Secretary of the state. Had the decisions not been taken now, the interviews would have got delayed by more six months, which we did not want,” Dr Zargar told KNS.

On allegations the decision has been taken to favour his close relative. The director said that any eligible candidate has the right to apply for the job.

“If my relative is eligible, he/she has all the right to apply,” he said.

However, the applicant doctors said they are being forced to fly to Jammu by SKIMS Administration for “their vested interests without bothering for patient-care which will get affected by absence of a large number of specialists from various hospitals”. (KNS)