445 new recruits receive job letters at 1st Rozgar Mela of Civil Defence dept
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 20: Home Guards volunteers deployed on traffic duty will no longer have to endure delays in receiving their duty allowances, with the Civil Defence & Home Guards Department taking over direct payment responsibilities from requisitioning agencies.
Announcing this at the first-ever Rozgar Mela of the department at Mawdiangdiang, Director of Civil Defence MK Sangma revealed a proposal to strengthen the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) by subsuming the Border Wing Home Guards Battalion.
He added that the battalion would be raised again voluntarily along areas bordering Bangladesh, as originally intended by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Presiding over the programme, Civil Defence and Home Guards Minister Comingone Ymbon handed appointment letters to 445 recruits and told them, “Every action you take reflects not only upon yourself, but upon the institution you represent and upon the state you serve.”
He described the day as a milestone that marked the beginning of the recruits’ professional journey and a proud continuation of service, sacrifice and discipline.
Ymbon said the Civil Defence and Home Guards have stood as pillars of courage and resilience in times of disaster and crisis, whether floods, earthquakes and cyclones or fires, accidents, and law-and-order emergencies. Referring to the recruitment, he stressed that its smooth and timely completion despite minor setbacks in the Physical Efficiency Test (PET) in Shillong reflected the government’s determination to ensure fairness and transparency, with merit being the sole basis for selection.
Commissioner and Secretary of Civil Defence & Home Guards, Vijay Kumar Mantri, welcomed the recruits into what he described as a family bound by discipline and protocol. He praised the Central Recruitment Board for its professionalism and timely execution, while commending the minister’s role.
“It is very rare to see a minister who takes pains and interest in ensuring that a recruitment process is conducted smoothly and in time,” Mantri said, recalling Ymbon’s intervention when heavy rain damaged the PET field in Shillong.
In his welcome address, Sangma said that entry into government service was a bridge that fulfilled the aspirations of many. With the new induction, he added, the department would be better equipped to serve the state as an auxiliary to the police or in times of disaster and war.
He announced that 233 more personnel would be recruited in the coming months.
Earlier in the day, Ymbon distributed appointment letters to four sub-inspectors, 284 guardsmen, 17 drivers and 140 non-combatant employees. The recruitment drive, conducted over 17 months, saw more than 22,000 candidates shortlisted for the Physical Measurement Test and PET before qualifying candidates went through written examinations and interviews for final selection.
The event featured a guard of honour for the chief guest, along with a band display by the Brass Band of the Border Wing Home Guards Battalion and the Pipe Bands of the Central Training Institute.
Among those present were Commandant General of Home Guards, M.K. Singh, Joint Director of Civil Defence, B. Mukhim, Under Secretary T. Nongneng, and other senior officers of the department.