Dharwad: Thousands of job aspirants under the banner of the All Karnataka State Students Association staged a massive protest in Dharwad on Thursday, demanding the immediate filling of vacant posts across various government departments. The protest, led by the association’s state president Kanth Kumar, threw normal life out of gear for several hours as demonstrators blocked the busy Jubilee Circle.

The protesters, mainly aspirants undergoing coaching at various institutes in Dharwad, marched from Sri Nagar, passed through College Road, and converged at Jubilee Circle, where they staged a sit-in for hours. Raising slogans against the state government, they accused it of negligence and wrong policies that have caused prolonged delays in recruitment, leaving lakhs of students and coaching centres in distress.

Speakers at the protest highlighted that recruitment for teachers has not taken place for several years. Similarly, the recruitment process for police constables and PSI (Police Sub-Inspectors) posts has remained stalled for the past 4–5 years, while First Division Assistant (FDA) and Second Division Assistant (SDA) posts have been vacant for 7–8 years. They pointed out that due to these delays, thousands of aspirants have now crossed the upper age limit, jeopardizing their future.

The protesters demanded that the government provide a minimum relaxation of five years in the age limit and immediately initiate the recruitment process across departments. They also urged the state to withdraw the recent KAS notification, citing serious translation errors in the Kannada version, and reissue it with corrections.

The massive gathering caused severe traffic disruptions across the city. Traffic police diverted vehicles at key junctions, but movement of public transport buses was also hit. The protestors, however, allowed ambulances to pass.

Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar attempted to pacify the protestors and prevent them from marching toward the Deputy Commissioner’s office. However, the agitators remained firm and later proceeded to the DC office to submit a memorandum. As a precaution, police had made elaborate security arrangements along the protest route and at the DC’s office.