Why government job drives are killing people in India

Early on the morning of March 3, Mahesh, a 34-year-old resident of Rourkela, in Odisha, reported at the district sports complex in the town of Sundergarh, to take a physical test for a government job. For the test, he would have to walk or run 25 km within four hours.

The test, conducted by the Odisha Subordinate Staff Selection Commission, was held jointly for the posts of forest guard, forester and livestock inspector. More than 8,000 aspirants had applied for 2,712 vacancies.

Though candidates were made to report at 6 am, they were put through extensive physical examinations and it was only at 11 am that Mahesh was called on to give the test. He recounted that he had been practising for it, but that he had not anticipated the intense heat of the late morning – temperatures rose to around 36 degrees Celsius that day.

“By 11, the sun was high up, and we had to walk or run in the burning heat,” said Mahesh, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym. “I finished my test in three-and-a-half hours, but my legs and hands went numb by the end of it.”

Mahesh learnt later that some others who appeared for the test met with tragic fates....

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