New Delhi: Vishal Mega Mart is opening a new store in Gogamukh, Assam, and a sea of people have turned up to apply for the position of sales associate.
In a viral video, people in Gogamukh claimed that nearly 4,000 people were crowded in the mega mart’s basement on 23 September holding their CVs in their hands, waiting for interviews. People had gathered, expecting the store to open, however it is set to open only later in October.
When ThePrint spoke to representatives of the mart, although they could not confirm the actual number of the applicants, they were certain that it was far less than 4,000.
The video was first shared by India TechGuide, who wrote, “A massive crowd reportedly gathered in Assam’s Gogamukh for a recruitment drive at Vishal Mega Mart. ”
The video also had an overlay message, “Unemployment has reached its peak”.
Selection is rare
Vishal Mega Mart is a chain of stores, famous in tier two and tier three stores. There are over 800 such stores in India with nearly 60 in Assam alone. This one however, is opening in a slightly more remote area surrounded by villages. According to the video, among the thousands who showed up looking for a job, only 30 people were hired.
ThePrint reached out to the Vishal Mega Mart head office in Gurugram and found out that the recruitment drive is locally organised and the qualification required for the position is a 10th class certificate.
Most of the applicants at Gogamukh were from nearby villages, and some even had graduate degrees. Depending on the store size, the mart hires about 25 to 40 people to manage the store.
“When the banners about hiring went up in the area, people got excited and turned up with their relatives thinking that a store was opening in the area”, the representative said.
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The ‘employment’ question
The video sparked a discussion on social media, where people pointed out the increasing unemployment in the country.
“This is heartbreaking to watch thousands of people turning up for just a few retail jobs… the situation is getting worse every single day,” wrote a user.
India TechGuide further posted a video with an overlay caption, “The job market is so tough in India right now.”
“The productive tax payers have zero children because they cannot carry the cost. Useless freeloaders getting endless freebies staying at home & producing an army of more freeloaders. India is the most retarded country in the world”, wrote an X user calling out freebie schemes of political parties.